A senior Justice Department official has instructed more than a half dozen U.S. attorney’s offices to draft plans to investigate a group funded by George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor whom President Trump has demanded be thrown in jail.
The official’s directive, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times, suggests department leaders are following orders from the president that specific people or groups be subject to criminal investigation — a major break from decades of past practice meant to insulate the Justice Department from political interference.
The move is the latest instance of the Justice Department moving against Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies.
Over the weekend, the president urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act quickly in seeking criminal charges against his longtime nemesis, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who has sued Mr. Trump and his businesses for hundreds of millions of dollars. Separate investigations into them are being conducted by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, and grand juries may soon be asked to vote on proposed indictments in those cases.
In recent days, Mr. Trump has revisited his grievances against Mr. Soros, long a boogeyman for the right, in part because he has backed progressive causes. After the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this month, the president threatened to use the levers of government to silence liberal protesters and donors to progressive groups, including Mr. Soros.
Mr. Soros began his global grant network, now known as the Open Society Foundations, decades ago to fund democratic initiatives around the world, particularly in communist and formerly communist countries. In the 1990s, the organization expanded its work to the United States. It provides grants to groups that work for human rights, democracy and equity, but Mr. Trump and some Republicans contend, without providing evidence, that it is a shadowy network promoting civil unrest, violent protests and property destruction. Liberals say the assertions are falsehoods aimed at stifling dissent.
On Monday, a lawyer in the office of the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, issued the directive to U.S. attorney’s offices in California, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Maryland, among others.
The lawyer, Aakash Singh, who is responsible for communicating with federal prosecutors around the country, suggested a wide range of charges for prosecutors to consider against the Open Society Foundations. Possible charges included racketeering, arson, wire fraud and material support for terrorism, according to a copy of the directive.
As evidence for such investigations, Mr. Singh pointed to a recent report by a conservative watchdog group known as the Capital Research Center, which monitors liberal money in politics. He asked the prosecutors to determine if the allegations were enough to justify opening criminal cases, adding that they should be prepared to submit their investigative plans soon.
The report broached a contentious claim, stating that the group “has poured over $80 million into groups tied to terrorism or extremist violence.” It cited as one example al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights group critical of Israel. The report noted that the Israeli government declared in 2022 that al-Haq was a front for terrorist activity.
At the time, the Open Society Foundations criticized that move by the Israeli government, saying it was not based on credible evidence, and was intended to discredit and silence Palestinian human rights groups.
Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for the Justice Department, defended the move. “This D.O.J., along with our hard-working and dedicated U.S. attorneys, will always prioritize public safety and investigate organizations that conspire to commit acts of violence or other federal violations of law,” he said.
In a statement, the Open Society Foundations denounced the accusations as “politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.”
The organization said its work in the United States was “solely dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms.”
Saying it condemned terrorism and denying that it funded it, the group added, “Our activities are peaceful and lawful.”
After Mr. Kirk’s killing this month, Mr. Trump sharply criticized the “radical left,” singling out Mr. Soros’s foundation and urging that he be put behind bars. Mr. Soros is “a bad guy” who “should be put in jail,” he told NBC News.
His remarks echoed a social media post Mr. Trump made in August, when he said Mr. Soros and his son, who has taken a larger role in the organization in recent years, should be charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly called RICO and historically used to prosecute mafia figures.
They should be charged “because of their support for Violent Protest, and much more, all throughout the United States,” Mr. Trump added.
Last week, the Open Society Foundations joined more than 100 largely liberal philanthropies to defend themselves and condemn political violence.
“Organizations should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values in support of the communities they serve,” it said in a joint letter. “We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give.”
That same week, the Soros family donated $10 million to Democratic efforts to redraw congressional districts in California, part of a nationwide political fight for control of Congress.