By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department’s public integrity section, which handles corruption cases against government officials, is set to be significantly downsized, with its cases transferred to U.S. attorney’s offices across the country, according to two people familiar with the discussions, the Associated Press reports.
The move comes weeks after the unit’s leadership resigned following a Justice Department decision to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
At the end of the Biden administration, about 30 prosecutors worked in the section, which was established in 1976 after the Watergate scandal to oversee federal corruption prosecutions. Prosecutors have now been told they will be reassigned, and as few as five lawyers may remain in the unit, the sources said.
A Justice Department spokesperson said Tuesday that leadership is “taking a broad look” at the agency’s resources but that no final decisions had been made about the unit’s future.
The shift appears to be part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to roll back enforcement mechanisms aimed at curbing corruption in government and business. The Justice Department has already halted enforcement of a longstanding law barring U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials and has moved to dismiss high-profile corruption cases, including those against Adams and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, both Democrats.
Beyond prosecuting public officials, the public integrity section oversees election-related crimes, including voter fraud and campaign finance violations. Under the Biden administration, it also led the election threats task force, which was created to respond to the rise in threats against election workers.
