Trump Administration Moves To Shut Down Justice Dept. Team Focused On Government Corruption

Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking a step further to dismantle a Watergate-era Justice Department safeguard, opening the door to politically motivated prosecutions.

If the proposed changes are finalized, U.S. attorneys appointed by the president will have the power to charge members of Congress without seeking the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section (PIN)’s approval. This would allow federal attorneys to indict elected officials without needing to comply with centralized oversight, making the process much easier for prosecutions to occur.

PIN was established following the Watergate Scandal. The DOJ website states its role is to “[oversee] the investigation and prosecution of all federal crimes affecting government integrity, including bribery of public officials, election crimes, and other related offenses.”

It also “investigates and prosecutes some of the most sensitive, complex, and contentious public corruption cases handled by the Department, including cases involving elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.”

Since President Donald Trump took office, PIN faced significant cuts in its staff, from 30 people to about five.

The reported cut in employees resulted from mass resignations following pressure from DOJ leaders to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Following the decision, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) responded with a letter. “Any move that further weakens the Public Integrity Section would signal that the Trump Department of Justice intends not to protect the American people against corruption.”

He went on to say, “[PIN] exists to ensure that the Department of Justice fairly and thoroughly investigates corruption by government officials at the federal, state, and local level without regard to those officials’ political views or allegiances.”

Opening the avenue for politically motivated prosecutions increases the risk of a deeper divide between political parties. It also removes a nonpartisan watchdog meant to prevent corruption from going unchecked.