The Trump administration is significantly downsizing the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, which oversees prosecutions of public officials accused of corruption. This has raised concerns about politicization of investigations and prosecutions.
The Public Integrity Section has been involved in high-profile cases, including the investigation of former President Trump. Trump has accused the Justice Department of conducting politically motivated investigations and has called for an end to the "weaponization" of the department.
The Biden administration has denied Trump's claims, saying that their investigations were conducted fairly and that they were caused by Trump's own actions. They have also noted the convictions of multiple Democrats on corruption charges during President Joe Biden's term.
Several officials resigned from the Public Integrity Section last month when the Justice Department moved to drop its corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. After federal prosecutors in New York refused to drop the charges, Trump appointees at Justice Department headquarters in Washington asked members of the Public Integrity Section to do so.
John Keller, the acting head of the section, refused to drop the Adams charges and resigned, two sources said. Three other members of the section also resigned.
The next day, Emil Bove, then the acting deputy attorney general, held a video meeting with other members of the Public Integrity Section. Bove urged one of them to sign a filing asking a judge to dismiss the charges against Adams.
A senior litigation counsel with the section, Edward Sullivan, ultimately signed the filing. Sullivan decided to sign it to protect his colleagues, a person familiar with the matter said.
Prosecutors noted that Trump administration Justice Department officials were not permanently dropping the charges against Adams. Instead, they were moving to dismiss the indictment "without prejudice," a legal maneuver that would allow federal prosecutors to restore the charges at any time — for instance, if Adams were to stop cooperating with Trump's immigration policies.
Long-standing Justice Department guidelines bar prosecutors from using the threat of federal criminal prosecution to blackmail Americans — from ordinary citizens to powerful elected officials — into carrying out their wishes.
5 Comments
KittyKat
Trump is right to be concerned about politically motivated investigations. The Democrats have been using the Justice Department as a weapon against their political opponents for years.
Katchuka
We need to support President Trump and his efforts to drain the swamp. He is the only one who can clean up the corruption in Washington D.C.
Noir Black
The Justice Department should be focused on real criminals, not politicians. There are plenty of violent criminals out there who need to be put behind bars.
Katchuka
God bless President Trump! He is the best president we've ever had and he is making America great again!
Noir Black
The Biden administration is clearly trying to cover up their own corruption. They're only prosecuting Democrats because they know they can't get away with it.