Trump Administration Shrinks DOJ Corruption Unit, Raising Concerns

The Trump administration is significantly downsizing the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, the unit responsible for prosecuting public officials accused of corruption, according to sources who spoke with NBC News.

Once overseeing all federal public corruption cases, the section is now being reduced to just a handful of employees and will no longer handle investigations or prosecutions directly. Instead, ongoing cases will be reassigned to U.S. attorney’s offices nationwide, where they will fall under the authority of political appointees rather than career prosecutors.

David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department official, criticized the move, calling it an attempt to shift corruption cases away from independent career attorneys. He warned it could lead to investigations influenced by partisan interests.

The shake-up follows controversy over the department’s decision to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. After federal prosecutors in New York refused, Trump-appointed officials in Washington pressured the Public Integrity Section to do so. When acting section chief John Keller refused, he resigned, along with three other attorneys. The case was ultimately dismissed after another official, Edward Sullivan, signed the filing—reportedly to protect his colleagues.

The Justice Department has not commented on the changes, but the restructuring raises serious concerns about the future independence of public corruption investigations.