Acting AG Rosen must rein in rogue U.S. Attorneys in opioid case

Dec. 22, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the Justice Department for filing a lawsuit against Walmart over the prescription of opioids by licensed doctors:

“Today rogue career Justice Department employees filed a lawsuit against Walmart based upon their failure to follow legal theories that have been presented in DEA Power Point presentations related to the sale of opioids to the public. President Trump made it clear over a year ago to agencies that guidance letters and other non-formal legal renderings needed to be consolidated into actual rules and regulations that everyone could know, follow and challenge. Rather than engaging in this basic following of the Administrative Procedures Act, DOJ is attempting to have courts write laws that they would never be able to sustain if subjected to scrutiny.

“The opioid crisis is real. But pharmacies like Walmart are trapped between patient lobbies and state laws that insist that legal doctor prescriptions be filled and the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys more intent on getting a big score than on legitimately solving the problem. Ultimately, laws in this country are not made by social media people creating Power Points. There is a process, the Justice Department failed to follow it and in doing so, failed to follow a direct Executive Order by President Trump demanding they end the practice of making laws through what are essentially private letters and press releases. Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen needs to make it a top priority on Dec. 23 to enforce the Trump executive order and end this prosecutorial abuse by his attorneys. Americans are sick of a rogue Justice Department breaking laws to suit their own purposes and I for one am glad that Walmart is standing up for the rule of law rather than the rule of D.C. bureaucrats.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 or email media@getliberty.org.

###