The issue focused on federal civil rights laws and enforcement. While Justice Department lawyers stated that criminal prosecution for illegal sexual activity was unconstitutional, Attorney General Eric Holder decided to prosecute Congress over legislation criminalizing financial transaction reporting.

But courts also blocked prosecutions of hundreds of thousands of companies for illegally recording political activities in court records. Court rulings permitted prosecutors to pursue felony charges against nearly every American business or individual who legally recorded political speech. For example, Judge Joseph Lawler ruled that John Warner's attorney Paul Farhi violated law