Rep. Nehls Raises Concerns Over DOJ Official Quietly Resigning After Receiving Million-Dollar Checks from Private Academic Institution

Last week, Representatives Scott Perry (R-PA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Randy Weber (R-TX), and I sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) raising concerns that Pamela Karlan, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, was engaged in an “unethical” arrangement in which she continued to earn nearly $1 million a year from Stanford University while working as a government official.

Recently, the American Accountability Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning Ms. Karlan’s unusual pay provisions. Ms. Karlan quietly left her post one business day before the documents were delivered to the foundation. In the letter, the lawmakers asked Attorney General Merrick Garland and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to disclose details surrounding her hiring and subsequent departure.

“Karlan continued to earn one of the most lucrative U.S. teaching salaries from a private institution all while directing our nation’s federal policy, including election integrity laws and gender policies involving our most innocent youth,” we said. “As Members of Congress, we believe it is critical to ensure transparency in the Executive Branch by bringing the circumstances involving Karlan’s time at the Department of Justice to light.”