As Trump officials stump for Republican candidates facing difficult races, ethics experts say they are being lax about complying with the Hatch Act, a federal anti-corruption law.
In some cases, court paperwork bears unmistakable signs of urgency — typos, unorthodox tactics and the signatures of the department’s senior political leadership.
Attorney General Todd Blanche announcing the indictment of L. Louise Lucas, a prominent Virginia Democrat, on drug-trafficking charges last week in Norfolk, Va.
With moves in Alaska and California, the department has stepped up interventions in the midterm elections as the president’s instrument of unmediated executive power.
President Trump during a campaign rally in support of Senator Dan S. Sullivan in Wasilla, Alaska, this month. Mr. Trump urged the Justice Dept. to intervene in the Senate race.