The Trump administration is considering dismantling much of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, the division responsible for prosecuting public corruption cases, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti recently informed employees that most of the unit’s attorneys would be reassigned or face potential layoffs. If enacted, this plan would drastically reduce the team’s role, shifting responsibility for corruption and election-related cases to U.S. attorneys’ offices nationwide.
The move comes after resistance from the section’s leadership to drop a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a directive from Justice Department higher-ups. Several attorneys have already resigned in protest, with the unit’s former chief, Corey Amundson, leaving rather than accepting a reassignment.
If implemented, the restructuring would leave only a handful of attorneys in place, with others being reassigned to focus on drug, violent crime, and immigration cases. Justice Department officials have stated that no final decisions have been made, but the shake-up signals a significant shift in how corruption cases will be handled under Trump’s leadership.
The Public Integrity Section has historically played a key role in prosecuting corruption at all levels of government and was consulted in cases against Trump himself, including the federal election interference investigation. Trump has long dismissed these cases as politically motivated attempts to block his return to power.
Critics see this latest move as another step in his broader efforts to consolidate control over the federal government and weaken mechanisms of accountability. Representative Dan Goldman of New York called the decision “a direct attack on public integrity” by an administration that has “embraced corruption as a governing principle.”
With resignations piling up and opposition mounting within the Justice Department, the fight over the future of public corruption prosecutions is far from over.
