Intriguing (and significant?) executive order from Prez Trump on “Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform”

I just saw this new federal Executive Order which was issued yesterday, January 18, 2021, by Prez Trump titled “Executive Order on Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform.”  Here are the main operational sections of the order:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve transparency with respect to the consequences of violating certain regulations and to protect Americans from facing unwarranted criminal punishment for unintentional violations of regulations, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. In the interest of fairness, Federal criminal law should be clearly written so that all Americans can understand what is prohibited and act accordingly. Some statutes have authorized executive branch agencies to promulgate thousands of regulations, creating a thicket of requirements that can be difficult to navigate, and many of these regulations are enforceable through criminal processes and penalties. The purpose of this order is to alleviate regulatory burdens on Americans by ensuring that they have notice of potential criminal liability for violations of regulations and by focusing criminal enforcement of regulatory offenses on the most culpable individuals.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the Federal Government that:

(a) Agencies promulgating regulations that may subject a violator to criminal penalties should be explicit about what conduct is subject to criminal penalties and the mens rea standard applicable to those offenses;

(b) Strict liability offenses are “generally disfavored.” United States v. United States Gypsum, Co., 438 U.S. 422, 438 (1978). Where appropriate, agencies should consider administrative or civil enforcement of strict liability regulatory offenses, rather than criminal enforcement of such offenses; and

(c) Criminal prosecution based on regulatory offenses is most appropriate for those persons who know what is prohibited or required by the regulation and choose not to comply, thereby causing or risking substantial public harm. Criminal prosecutions based on regulatory offenses should focus on matters where a putative defendant had actual or constructive knowledge that conduct was prohibited….

Sec. 5. Agency Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement. (a) Within 45 days of the date of this order, and in consultation with the Department of Justice, each agency should publish guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to administratively address regulatory offenses subject to potential criminal liability rather than refer those offenses to the Department of Justice for criminal enforcement.

As regular readers likely know, lots of folks have long been concerned about federal “overcriminalization.”  For many years across multiple administrations, public policy groups on both the left and the right have advocated for mens rea reforms and other tools to limit undue criminal liability for regulatory offenses.  Against that backdrop, I find it especially intriguing and ultimately puzzling that Prez Trump’s last Executive Order during his last week in office would seek to address these issues.  Because I am not an expert in this space, I am not sure if this is a significant EO, but I am eager to hear from anyone who thinks it might be.

UPDATE: I now see that the Heritage Foundation has this new short commentary on this Executive Order under the headline “Trump Delivers Long-Awaited Triumph for Criminal Justice Reform in Last-Minute Executive Order.”  Here is a snippet from the commentary with lots of links:

The executive order is designed to “protect Americans from facing unwarranted criminal punishment for unintentional violations of regulations.”  

It recognizes what scholars from both sides of the political aisle have observed for decades: that federal criminal law is far-reaching, unintuitive, and difficult to understand. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union, The Charles Koch Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, The American Conservative Union, and many other groups have been advocating that the government clear up this tangled web of criminal laws because, as the executive order acknowledges, most Americans cannot reasonably understand what the law demands of them. And even accidental violations of arcane regulations can land them in prison.  

This isn’t hypothetical. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers keeps a database of Americans who have been criminally punished for violating obscure regulatory laws.