The Trump administration is reportedly considering significant cuts to the U.S. Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, the key unit responsible for handling public corruption cases.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed on Tuesday that Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti informed several employees that most attorneys within the unit may face reassignment to different positions, or possibly layoffs.
The move, which could impact about 20 attorneys, is seen as a shift in the department’s approach to handling corruption cases. Sources say those affected would be reassigned to roles involving cases related to drugs, violent crime, or immigration. Only a small number of attorneys would remain in the unit.
One of the central points of contention is the unit’s resistance to a directive from the Trump administration to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
The department’s Public Integrity Section is tasked with prosecuting some of the most politically sensitive cases, including those involving elected officials at local, state, and federal levels.
A Justice Department spokesperson clarified that no final decisions have been made, adding that leadership is still reviewing resources across the department.
However, the proposed changes would shift oversight of public corruption and election-related cases from the Washington-based Public Integrity Section to U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country.
Under this new arrangement, the section would no longer directly prosecute these cases but would instead provide consulting support.
This potential restructuring has drawn sharp criticism. Democratic U.S. Representative Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, condemned the decision, calling it a “purge of all forms of accountability” within the federal government.
He added that dismantling the section charged with maintaining public integrity is particularly troubling given the alleged corruption associated with President Trump’s administration.
The Public Integrity Section has been at the center of several high-profile investigations, including those involving Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the classified documents case.
Trump, who continues to falsely claim that the election was rigged, has frequently dismissed these investigations as politically motivated attacks aimed at preventing his political comeback.
Tensions within the Justice Department reached a boiling point last month when five attorneys from the Public Integrity Section resigned over the department’s push to dismiss the corruption case against Mayor Adams.
This incident follows earlier tensions involving the reassignment of the section’s former chief, Corey Amundson, who resigned rather than accept the reassignment.
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