WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is considering moving decisions about whether to prosecute public officials such as members of Congress to regional U.S. attorney’s offices rather than at headquarters, part of President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the department and its public corruption enforcement.
Public integrity cases, such as the indictment that was dropped against New York Mayor Eric Adams or conviction of former Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., are among the highest-profile cases the department prosecutes.
The department is reviewing the provisions of several sections of its Justice Manual, which provides written guidance about how cases are pursued but no decisions have been made, according to a department official.
Trump has been critical of department prosecutions and he has stopped enforcing some anti-bribery statutes. Trump is also accused by critics of taking bribes from foreign governments, most recently for saying he would accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, although he contends the gift would be to the Defense Department and not him personally.
The review aims to ensure that U.S. attorneys in 94 offices nationwide share equal responsibility with headquarters officials in choosing whether to pursue public corruption cases, according to a department official speaking on background. No final decisions have been made, the department official said.
The review was first reported by The Washington Post.
Public corruption cases are often politically sensitive. Adams argued politics were behind his prosecution for allegedly taking bribes from the Turkish government during the Biden administration, because he had blamed the federal government for an influx of migrants.
Adams, a Democrat who is now running for reelection as an independent, dropped previous criticism of Trump and flew to Mar-a-Lago to meet with him. The Trump administration dropped the charges by arguing the case distracted the mayor from helping federal authorities enforce immigration laws. Prosecutors working on the case, including one of Trump’s own appointees, resigned in protest of that decision.
John Keller the acting head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit, also resigned in protest and the Trump administration subsequently slashed that unit’s staffing.
Trump was indicted in two federal cases between his two president terms before won back the office. He has complained for years the department “weaponized” its prosecutions for political reasons.
But former President Joe Biden and former Attorney General Merrick Garland denied political motivations were behind Trump indictments for mishandling classified documents and conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The department dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election under longstanding policy not to prosecute a sitting president.
A Trump nominee to become U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., Ed Martin, threatened to investigate Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for allegedly threatening Supreme Court justices during a protest.
Martin withdrew from consideration for the post that requires Senate confirmation and Trump named him to a Justice Department post instead.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ considers changing who decides to pursue public corruption cases
