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DOJ 2400.2: SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS TO THE DEPARTMENT

US Department of Justice

Approval Date: September 2, 1997
Approved by: JANET RENO
Attorney General
Distribution: BUR/H-1; OBD/H-1; SPL-23
Initiated by: Justice Management Division
Office of General Counsel

 

1. PURPOSE. This order sets forth the Department's policies and procedures regarding the solicitation and acceptance of gifts, devises and bequests of property of all kinds (collectively, "gifts").

2. SCOPE. This order applies to the entire Department.

3. POLICY.

a. Solicitation of Gifts.

(1) No employee of the Department may solicit gifts or encourage the solicitation of gifts to the Department unless the solicitation has been approved in advance by the Attorney General or by the Deputy Attorney General.

(2) The authority of the Deputy Attorney General to approve the solicitation of gifts may not be redelegated.

(3) Nominating, or seeking the nomination of, a program administered by the Department for any award shall not constitute solicitation.

b. Acceptance of Gifts: Authority of the Assistant Attorney General for Administration.

(1) The Assistant Attorney General for Administration has the authority on behalf of the Department to accept gifts in accordance with the criteria set forth below. The authority of the Assistant Attorney General for Administration to accept gifts is exclusive and applies to gifts made to the Department as a whole as well as gifts made to any of the Department's components.

(2) In determining whether to accept a gift, the Assistant Attorney General for Administration and anyone to whom he redelegates acceptance authority shall consider the following criteria:

(a) Whether the gift is appropriate for use (including liquidation) by the Department;

(b) Whether any condition the donor places on the Department's acceptance or use of the gift is acceptable to the Department;

(c) Whether any Department employee solicited the gift or encouraged its solicitation and, if so, whether the solicitation had the prior approval of the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General; and

(d) Whether acceptance of the gift is appropriate and advisable from the perspective of conflict of interest and government ethics guidelines, including whether acceptance of the gift would create the appearance of impropriety.

c. Duties of the Assistant Attorney General for Administration. The Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall prepare an annual report for the Attorney General describing the gifts that have been accepted on behalf of the Department, identifying the donor of each gift, setting forth the disposition of all gifts, specifying the use the Department intends to make of the gift or the proceeds from the liquidation of the gift, and setting forth any restrictions the donor has placed on the gift's use. The Assistant Attorney General shall send a copy of this report to the respective Committees on Appropriations in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Assistant Attorney General shall also be responsible for arranging for all transfers and deposits to the Treasury that are required by 28 U.S.C. § 524(d), and for making any other arrangements that will aid in the Department's execution of its gift acceptance authority.

/s/JANET RENO
Attorney General

Updated August 29, 2014