# 119-s-3874: Prohibiting Political Prosecutions Act of 2026

119-s-3874, Prohibiting Political Prosecutions Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3874
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3874
- Congress: 119
- Title: Prohibiting Political Prosecutions Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Law
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Stop political considerations from driving federal prosecutions.** This bill would bar government attorneys and investigators from starting, continuing, or declining prosecutions or investigations based on a person's political affiliations, activities, or beliefs and would add new enforcement, reporting, and grand jury rules to enforce that limit. - It requires covered DOJ and investigative personnel to attest in criminal complaints, informations, indictments, and warrants that political or policy considerations did not influence charging decisions and that the evidence supports guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It preserves the Attorney General's ability to issue prosecutorial guidelines. - It creates a civil cause of action so anyone investigated or prosecuted in the United States can sue applicable covered individuals for damages. It also tightens grand jury rules by requiring presentation of exculpatory and impeachment material, by forcing disclosure of how many grand jurors indicted on each count, and by adding a new "For Political Reasons" dismissal standard. - It bars the President and White House employees from directing DOJ investigative or charging choices and forbids DOJ staff from considering such directions. It requires the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General to open investigations within 5 business days, finish them within 1 month, and report findings to the appropriate congressional committees within 5 business days of completion.

## Provisions PRIA read

- New right to sue over political prosecutions: benefit, medium. If enacted, a person who was investigated or prosecuted after a violation of the ban on political considerations would be able to sue the applicable covered individual for money damages in U.S. court. The suit could name the covered official in their personal capacity. This right to bring a damages…
- Ban on political motives in prosecutions: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would bar government attorneys and investigators from using a person's political or policy associations, activities, or beliefs when deciding whether to open or recommend a prosecution or investigation. It would also bar the President and White House employees from directing DO…
- Faster reporting of political complaints: benefit, medium. If enacted, all DOJ and FBI employees would have to report instances where political or policy associations were considered in an investigation or charging decision to both the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General. Those offices would have to start an invest…
- More grand jury transparency and safeguards: benefit, medium. If enacted, the government would have to tell grand juries about known exculpatory evidence and any materials that could impeach a government witness. A defendant who shows substantial grounds to believe political considerations were used could ask a judge to review grand jury minutes in private. I…
- Signed statements on charging and warrants: benefit, medium. If enacted, every criminal complaint, information, indictment, and application for a search or arrest warrant would need a signed attestation by the applicable covered official. The attestation would say the official is not aware the filing is sought because of the person's political associations,…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act

## Sources
- [119-s-3874 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3874)

## Related
- [119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5238)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3874 (as of 2026-08-11).