The regulations are limited in their scope to subpoenas and demands issued for the testimony of Department of Justice employees or records only. The regulations do not apply to subpoenas received by an official of another government agency or to requests for that agency's documents, even if the Department of Justice is representing the agency in the litigation. Employees of another federal agency should be advised to contact the General Counsel's Office of their agency for appropriate instructions if they receive a subpoena.

In those cases in which a Department of Justice employee is required to testify in a matter unrelated to his/her official duties or to disclose information not contained in the Department's files nor acquired as part of his/her official duties, the regulations do not apply.

The regulations are not intended to impede the appropriate disclosure, in the absence of a demand, of information by Department law enforcement agencies to federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement, prosecutive, or regulatory agencies. 28 C.F.R. § 16.21(c). Where Department employees are otherwise authorized by law and by their agency to share information with another law enforcement, prosecutive, or regulatory agency, they may do so without a demand from the other agency. If the other agency issues a subpoena, order, or formal demand for the information in a state or federal proceeding, the regulations apply.

[updated April 2018]