Michael Kelly and Douglas Paul provided insights to the National Law Journal about how the recent government shutdown may have impacted the Securities Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, particularly investigations being conducted by the departments in the midst of the shutdown.
Paul, who previously served as a branch chief in the enforcement division of the SEC said, “Some initial public offerings were reportedly slowed down because of the shutdown and from an enforcement perspective, many investigations had to be temporarily halted because they [personnel] weren’t permitted to show up for work and couldn’t take testimony.”
Kelly elaborated on the potential damage resulting from public servants leaving their careers as a result of the shutdown, “Experienced career prosecutors play an important role at the Department of Justice. They are often brought in to handle some of the toughest cases, and they have to make very difficult judgment calls. If the Justice Department will be losing some of these prosecutors because they don’t want their pay held hostage to shutdowns, that is not a good development for anyone in the federal criminal justice system.”