SHRED Act of 2025: DOJ and Intelligence Staff Face 20 Years to Life for Concealing Government Records

The Stopping High-level Record Elimination and Destruction Act of 2025, or the SHRED Act, is a short, sharp piece of legislation focused on one thing: making the penalty for messing with official government records absolutely brutal for a specific group of federal employees. Specifically, this bill targets officers and employees of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the entire intelligence community. If someone in these roles is caught concealing, removing, or mutilating government records, the bill mandates a minimum of 20 years in federal prison, with the possibility of life imprisonment, plus fines. This is a massive jump from standard penalties for document mishandling and introduces one of the harshest mandatory minimum sentences seen in federal law for a white-collar crime.

The Fine Print: Who’s on the Hook?

This isn’t about some random administrative error. This penalty targets employees in the DOJ—meaning lawyers, agents, and support staff—and anyone working for the alphabet soup of intelligence agencies (think CIA, NSA, etc.). The goal is clearly to safeguard sensitive national security and law enforcement documents. If you’re a DOJ analyst who decides to shred a few files to cover up a mistake, or an intelligence officer who tries to smuggle out records, the legal consequences just went from career-ending to life-altering. The bill is extremely clear that this penalty is mandatory: a minimum of 20 years, no wiggle room for a judge.

The Real-World Chill Factor

While the intent is to deter high-level corruption and ensure governmental transparency, the severity of the punishment raises serious questions about its practical impact. Imagine you’re a mid-level manager in the DOJ who discovers wrongdoing. If you try to copy or remove records to expose the issue—a classic whistleblower move—you could be charged under this statute, potentially facing decades in prison. The risk is that this extreme penalty could effectively freeze out legitimate internal processes and intimidate potential whistleblowers, making employees think twice before exposing misconduct if it involves handling or moving records in any unauthorized way. The cost of being wrong or misinterpreted is simply too high.

Disproportionate Punishment vs. Deterrence

Preserving government integrity is crucial, especially within law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The bill’s proponents would argue that only penalties this severe can deter those with access to the nation’s most sensitive secrets from destroying evidence. However, a 20-year minimum sentence for document destruction is exceptionally disproportionate compared to penalties for many violent crimes. This creates a scenario where a mistake in judgment or an attempt to report misconduct could result in a life sentence, focusing the full weight of the criminal justice system on employees who handle paperwork. It’s a very specific, very heavy hammer being dropped on a very specific group of federal employees, and it will fundamentally change how records are managed—and how internal dissent is handled—within these powerful agencies.