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Remember when federal law enforcement officers werereportedly engaging in sex parties with prostitutes that were paid for by drug cartels? The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the FBI and the U.S. Marshal Service, found themselves in hot water over a damning report from the Department of Justices Inspector General. The FBI and U.S. Marshal Service were chastised for refusing to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment. Yet, the sex party allegations were a throwback to the incident surrounding some members of the Secret Service, and their wild night before the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia in 2012. A secret service members refusal to pay one of the prostitutes, which is quasi-legal in Colombia, led to the police being called. The situation devolved quickly from there, and was a major embarrassment to the agency.

Well, Attorney General Eric Holder has had enough. It was time to tell his workers that soliciting prostitutes isnt in accordance with the rules and laws of the Justice Department (is this real life?). Heissued the following memo to clear up any doubt in the matter:

For these reasons, I want to reiterate to all Department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex. This rule applies at all times during an individual's employment, including while off duty or on personal leave, and applies regardless of whether the activity is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction, foreign or domestic.

Department employees who violate these prohibitions will be subject to suspension or termination. Supervisors and managers are subject to discipline for failing to report suspected violations. Suspected violations by Department employees must be immediately reported to the internal affairs personnel of the relevant component's headquarters (or, for those without an internal affairs department, an equivalent entity). Allegations determined to be non-frivolous also must be reported to the component's security personnel. The Department also expects adherence to these standards by its contractors and sub-contractors, grant recipients and sub grant recipients, and cooperative agreement holders, who are subject to all remedies available by statute and regulation when such standards are not met.

Yeah, its come to this.

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Eric Holder To DOJ Workers: Quit It With The Prostitutes ...

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: Attorney General Eric Holder delivers remarks about the Justice Department's findings related to two investigations in Ferguson, Missouri, at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building March 4, 2015 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Attorney General Eric Holder has sent a memorandum to all Justice Department personnel warning them not to solicit prostitutes.

The memo, dated Apr. 10, warns employees, "The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking."

Holder goes on to say, "I want to reiterate to all Department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex," and, he wrote that the rule applies "at all times," "including while off duty or on personal leave."

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A Justice Department watchdog report claims DEA agents participated in sex parties with prostitutes in Colombia over several years between 2005 a...

Employees who violate the ban could be suspended or terminated, and the prohibition applies to Justice Department contractors, subcontractors and also to grant recipients.

CBS News' Paula Reid confirmed the existence of the memo, first reported by the Washington Post.

Justice Department spokeswoman Emily Pierce said in a statement to CBS News that Holder's memo comes after the inspector general's recent report about the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents who participated in sex parties paid for by drug cartels.

The attorney general, Pierce said, has "directed the department's Office of Professional Responsibility to undertake a review of the procedures used by DEA's professional responsibility office and make recommendations on how to improve the investigative and disciplinary processes for all allegations of misconduct at DEA."

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Eric Holder warns DOJ personnel not to solicit prostitutes

Mar. 4, 2015: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder addresses reporters in Washington. (Reuters)

Attorney General Eric Holder sent a memo to employees of the Department of Justice Friday, reminding them that soliciting prostitutes is against agency rules and that violation of those rules could lead to suspension or termination.

The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking, the memo said.

The memo was sent weeks after a Justice Department watchdog report alleged several Drug Enforcement Administration agents attended "sex parties" with prostitutes in an unnamed host country paid for by local drug cartels.

The alleged parties took place over a period of several years. According to the report by the Justice Department inspector general, the parties were even held in agents' U.S. government-leased quarters.

The IG report found such allegations often went unreported or underreported, or were not pursued properly.

Holder said in the memo Friday that the prohibition on soliciting prostitutes also applies when employees are off duty, or in a foreign country where prostitution is legal.

The Department of Justice is in the process of reviewing security clearances of the DEA employees who attended the parties, and is investigating the disciplinary process following the accusations of sexual misconduct, a senior law enforcement official told Fox News.

"Department leadership takes very seriously the allegations laid out in the IG's report and acted quickly to remind all employees that they are prohibited from participating in commercial sex acts and will be suspended or terminated for violating the policy, a Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement Friday.

The Associated Press and Fox News Matt Dean contributed to this report.

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Holder warns DOJ employees against soliciting prostitutes

On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo to everyone in the Department of Justice reminding them that they should not become customers in the commercial sex trade-- and not just because of the threat of extortion or blackmail, either.

"Regardless of whether prostitution is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction," Holder wrote, "soliciting prostitutes creates a greater demand for human trafficking victims and a consequent increase in the number of minor and adult persons trafficked into commercial sex slavery."

While there's some debate, a 2012 study largely reinforces Holder's point. "On average," its authors write, "countries with legalized prostitution experience a larger degree of reported human trafficking inflows." And they have a scatterplot to demonstrate it.

It seems almost certain that the memo follows from revelations last month that agents with the DEA -- a branch of the Department of Justice -- attended sex parties hosted by Colombian cartels. We will note, however, that the general response to that news was not, "Oh, but prostitution is legal in Colombia." It was: "Pardon?"

Clearly, FBI agents and other members of the federal law enforcement system should not, of their own volition, be soliciting prostitutes where it is illegal. One hopes, fervently, that Holder's memo was not meant to remind his wards that they should not actively break the law; if that was its intent, the last few days (or, I suppose, weeks or months) before he leaves his position will be spent crafting a series of hundreds of similar memos. "SUBJECT: Prohibition on murder." "SUBJECT: Prohibition on scalping sports tickets." "SUBJECT: Prohibition on espionage." Et cetera.

The case for why those agents should not maintain the company of prostitutes hired by those they are investigating is slightly less clear-cut, but not entirely so. While the things to which I have been invited but which I'd prefer not to attend skew more toward the mundane than "drug sex parties," I think most adults have figured out ways in which to politely decline invitations that it's wiser for them to avoid. Will this become the new "If you're a cop, you have to tell me," litmus test from law-breakers? If so, I have all of the confidence in the world that our professional law enforcement agents will be able to figure out how to walk that line. And there will be a lot of prostitutes on standby near criminal activity, just in case.

Then there's the but-it's-legal-here! argument. This is what legal experts call "opening a can of worms." Sure, there are things that are illegal in, say, Singapore that are commonplace in the United States. And there are things in, say, Colombia that are illegal here. Hell, there are things that are legal in Washington, D.C., that are illegal in Maryland (although federal agents should probably avoid the particular thing I am thinking of). Laws are complicated and not always brightly delineated even within a jurisdiction (think: prostitution in Nevada). I hope very much that federal law enforcement officials know clearly where certain things are and are not illegal; I hope too that they don't use that knowledge to roam around in the gray areas.

Anyway. No more prostitutes, FBI agents! What I would do if I were Holder is go around and hand out the memo to everyone individually. The people who are like, "Awww, man"? Maybe investigate them, if you have the resources.

Philip Bump writes about politics for The Fix. He is based in New York City.

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The Fix: Eric Holder would like to kindly remind Justice Department employees not to solicit prostitutes

On Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder issued a memo to everyone in the Department of Justice reminding them that they should not become customers in the commercial sex trade-- and not just because of the threat of extortion or blackmail, either.

"Regardless of whether prostitution is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction," Holder wrote, "soliciting prostitutes creates a greater demand for human trafficking victims and a consequent increase in the number of minor and adult persons trafficked into commercial sex slavery."

While there's some debate, a 2012 study largely reinforces Holder's point. "On average," its authors write, "countries with legalized prostitution experience a larger degree of reported human trafficking inflows." And they have a scatterplot to demonstrate it.

It seems almost certain that the memo follows from revelations last month that agents with the DEA -- a branch of the Department of Justice -- attended sex parties hosted by Colombian cartels. We will note, however, that the general response to that news was not, "Oh, but prostitution is legal in Colombia." It was: "Pardon?"

Clearly, FBI agents and other members of the federal law enforcement system should not, of their own volition, be soliciting prostitutes where it is illegal. One hopes, fervently, that Holder's memo was not meant to remind his wards that they should not actively break the law; if that was its intent, the last few days (or, I suppose, weeks or months) before he leaves his position will be spent crafting a series of hundreds of similar memos. "SUBJECT: Prohibition on murder." "SUBJECT: Prohibition on scalping sports tickets." "SUBJECT: Prohibition on espionage." Et cetera.

The case for why those agents should not maintain the company of prostitutes hired by those they are investigating is slightly less clear-cut, but not entirely so. While the things to which I have been invited but which I'd prefer not to attend skew more toward the mundane than "drug sex parties," I think most adults have figured out ways in which to politely decline invitations that it's wiser for them to avoid. Will this become the new "If you're a cop, you have to tell me," litmus test from law-breakers? If so, I have all of the confidence in the world that our professional law enforcement agents will be able to figure out how to walk that line. And there will be a lot of prostitutes on standby near criminal activity, just in case.

Then there's the but-it's-legal-here! argument. This is what legal experts call "opening a can of worms." Sure, there are things that are illegal in, say, Singapore that are commonplace in the United States. And there are things in, say, Colombia that are illegal here. Hell, there are things that are legal in Washington, D.C., that are illegal in Maryland (although federal agents should probably avoid the particular thing I am thinking of). Laws are complicated and not always brightly delineated even within a jurisdiction (think: prostitution in Nevada). I hope very much that federal law enforcement officials know clearly where certain things are and are not illegal; I hope too that they don't use that knowledge to roam around in the gray areas.

Anyway. No more prostitutes, FBI agents! What I would do if I were Holder is go around and hand out the memo to everyone individually. The people who are like, "Awww, man"? Maybe investigate them, if you have the resources.

Philip Bump writes about politics for The Fix. He is based in New York City.

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Eric Holder would like to kindly remind Justice Department employees not to solicit prostitutes