Hillary Clinton has received more than $275,000 from more than 1,600 employees at the Justice Department this year, federal donor records reveal, and exceeded the number who contributed to Donald Trump by a factor of almost 40.
Clinton collected a total of $276,250 as of mid-October from 1,642 individuals claiming the Department of Justice as their employer, according to campaign finance data collected by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. Individual contributions varied from $1 to the legal maximum of $2,700 and ranged from Jan. 4 to Oct. 19, the latest date for which information was available.
Trump received $8,560 from 42 staffers at the department over the same period, according to the data. His contributions ranged from $2 to $1,000, and run from Feb. 27 to Oct. 16.
The difference means staffers at the department favored Clinton over Trump this year by a ratio of 39-1, while the sum total of their contributions favored Clinton by a little over 32-1.
The difference first raised eyebrows in May, when it was noted Clinton had received contributions from 228 staffers compared to just two who gave to Trump. The 114-1 differential on record that month has diminished in the intervening days, but the data comes after weekend revelations about assistant attorney general Peter Kadzik’s ties to the Clinton camp.
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Emails obtained from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and published by WikiLeaks showed Podesta praised Kadzik in 2008 as a “fantastic lawyer” who “kept me out of jail” during past investigations into President Bill Clinton’s administration. The connection between the two, dating to time as classmates at Georgetown University, has not gone completely unseen, but the newest emails have enflamed controversy about politicization at the Justice Department. Kadzik holds a top role at the department in the investigation pertaining to Clinton’s mishandling of classified information.
The Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their positions to engage in overt political activism, also permits employees to support candidates by monetary means. However, experts have argued the activity still lends itself to an appearance of impropriety.
“Like everyone else in the United States, DOJ employees enjoy the freedom of speech, and they are certainly permitted to exercise that freedom by giving money to their preferred candidate,” said Steve Levin, a former federal prosecutor and current partner at law firm Levin & Curlett. “The Hatch Act, which is designed to prohibit pernicious political activities, expressly permits DOJ employees to contribute money to political campaigns.
“It’s crucial that the criminal justice system not only be fair, but perceived to be fair. … To my mind, I think the attorney general would want to ensure the integrity of the criminal justice system as well as the appearance of integrity and agree that an independent prosecutor is appropriate in this case,” he added.
