The nomination, which comes amid a whirlwind of #Trump admin actions to dismantle the government’s #PublicIntegrity [legal depts charged w/combating #political #corruption] guardrails, also has raised questions about whether Levels, a company #CaseyMeans co-founded that sells subscriptions for devices that continuously monitor users’ glucose levels, could #profit from the admin’s health guidance & policy.
#SurgeonGeneral #ConflictOfInterests #hypocrisy #law #science #medicine #PublicHealth
“This is yet another sign that it’s open season for political #corruption," said Stacey Young, the executive director & founder of the group Justice Connection, a network of #Justice Dept alumni supporting #DOJ's workforce. "The administration gutted the #PublicIntegrity Section, neutered the #USAttorney’s Office in
#DC, & is now shuttering the #FBI’s pre-eminent federal public corruption squad. This isn’t what voters had in mind when they heard, ‘drain the swamp.’”
A top leader in the #FBI’s Washington Field Office was also recently reassigned, 2 people familiar…said. A FBI ofcl said the person was not reassigned for any adversarial reason.
Earlier this year, the #DOJ slashed its #PublicIntegrity Section, which had also worked on public #corruption cases. Members of the unit had also resigned after refusing to sign off on dropping the federal corruption case against NYC Mayor #EricAdams.
…#EmilBove’s demands frustrated people in the #CivilRights division, but many of the managers were afraid to push back, having watched a month earlier as Bove pressed prosecutors in a different division, the #PublicIntegrity section, to drop #criminal charges against #NYC Mayor #EricAdams…. That section, which once had about 30 lawyers, now has only a handful.
#law #ethics #Constitution #FirstAmendment #dissent #immigration #autocracy #dictatorship #Trump
Student loans, #SpecialEducation to move out of #Education Dept
#Trump continued his push to unwind the US Dept of Education, announcing that the management of the entire federal #StudentLoan portfolio & of the dept's "special needs" programs would be moved to other #FederalAgencies immediately.
#USpol #corruption #law #regulation #PublicIntegrity #kleptocracy
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/21/nx-s1-5336330/trump-education-department-student-loans-special-education-fsa
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is demanding answers from the DOJ on the dismantling of the Public Integrity Section, a move that weakens anti-corruption efforts. Restoring these resources is vital to holding the powerful accountable. #Corruption #PublicIntegrity www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release...
Whitehouse Demands Answers fro...
Several senior lawyers managing #pardons, #bankruptcy litigation & other #legal issues at the #DOJ were forced out on Friday as the #Trump admin continued to remove or reassign ofcls with many years of experience. The ofcl overseeing the Office of Professional Responsibility [#OPR], which handles internal #ethics investigations [of course], was placed on admin leave.
#law #justice #corruption #PublicIntegrity #felon47 #PamBondi #EmilBove #ToddBlanche
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/trump-justice-dept-ousters.html?smid=url-share
US #Senate confirms ex-Trump defense lawyer as Deputy Attorney General
The #Republican-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed #Trump's former #criminal defense attorney #ToddBlanche to serve as Deputy Attorney General, the No. 2 role at the #Justice Department.
#law #DOJ #PublicIntegrity #corruption #MafiaState
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-confirms-ex-trump-defense-lawyer-deputy-attorney-general-2025-03-05/
#Trump is sowing #chaos at a blistering pace.
- Thomas B. Edsall
He “is dismantling #watchdog offices & other parts of the #PublicIntegrity apparatus for 2 reasons, one backward-looking & one forward-looking,” Richard Primus, a #law prof at the University of Michigan, wrote by email:
#felon47 #DOJ #JAG #accountability #criminal #corruption #MafiaState #kleptocracy #USpol
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/trump-agenda-firings-chaos.html?unlocked_article_code=1.z04.UfIN.jWziIQ-9S4EQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#Hochul to Seek New Oversight, but Won’t Remove #Adams For Now
Gov #KathyHochul of #NY is said to be planning to announce that she will not remove Mayor #EricAdams at this time, but she will seek to increase the state’s supervision of #NYC’s affairs.
#Trump #QuidProQuo #DOJ #justice #corruption #PublicIntegrity #EmilBove #law
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/nyregion/hochul-adams-nyc-oversight.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Though the hearing was about #EricAdams, #EmilBove articulated a vision for the #DOJ that precludes it from prosecuting public officials who are useful to carrying out the #Trump admin’s political & policy objectives.
One of Bove’s rationales for dropping the Adams case was that the prosecution would “interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City” & thus has hurt the mayor’s ability to support Trump’s #immigration agenda.
"Some of you have been forced to consider whether your actions will result in the elimination of the #PublicIntegrity Section, created in the wake of the Watergate scandal, & whose vital work is intended to protect the public from government #corruption," it said. "Several of you have resigned, & others are wondering what will happen to the Department we served & revere."
On Thurs, 6 lawyers — the #Trump-appointed acting US attorney for #SDNY & 5 prosecutors in Washington — resigned rather than accede to #EmilBove’s demands. On Fri, a 7th stepped down, writing in his resignation letter that only a “fool” or a “coward” would sign off on the dismissal.
But those close to the #PublicIntegrity section prosecutors described Sullivan’s decision to put his name on the document as heroic. The reason … [he did it was] to protect others….
Fri morning, #EmilBove, acting dpty AG, stepped up pressure. After Thur’s #resignations, Bove held a meeting w/the entire #PublicIntegrity section, ~24 lawyers, looking for anyone to sign a court doc seeking dismissal of the #EricAdams charges. Resignations &/or firings hang over every conversation.
Bove ordered the case be dropped on Mon. The fact that it’s now Friday afternoon & no federal prosecutor has yet complied is a sign of remarkable upheaval at the #DOJ.
Via #NBC #Justice reporter #RyanJReilly @ 6:01pm ET on Feb 13, 2025
NEW: At least three more #DOJ #PublicIntegrityUnit senior officials have resigned after meeting with #EmilBove on the Eric #EricAdams case. Five in #PublicIntegrity overall.
That’s six officials who resigned, triple the number that happened during the #SaturdayNightMassacre.
🚨🚨 NEW: At least three MORE #DOJ #PublicIntegrity division senior ofcls have resigned after a meeting w/ #Trump’s acting dpty AG #EmilBove about the dismissal of #EricAdams #corruption case.
That’s a total of 6 officials who resigned, triple the number that happened during the Nixon #SaturdayNightMassacre.
Acting dpty AG #EmilBove ordered #DanielleSassoon’s office to drop the charges on Mon, saying a potential trial would come too close to when #EricAdams is seeking reelection & the case could hinder his ability to focus on *fighting* [doing] #crime & illegal #immigration.
But prosecutors so far have not asked the trial judge to dismiss the case. If NY prosecutors refused to do so, it’s possible that #DOJ ofcls would send prosecutors from the #PublicIntegrity section to make the request instead.
Kevin Driscoll, a dpty asst AG in the #DOJ’s #criminal division, also resigned…. A longtime career ofcl, Driscoll’s portfolio included the #PublicIntegrity Section, which is responsible for investigations related to elected ofcls. John D. Keller—acting chief of the public integrity section—resigned as well….
#EricAdams was charged w/ #WireFraud, #bribery & seeking illegal campaign #donations.
‼️ The chief of the #DOJ’s #PublicIntegrity section, Corey Amundson, is also being removed from his post, acc/to people familiar…. The section oversees #election #crimes & investigations into #PublicOfficials, & its chief is a #nonpartisan career official, according to the Justice Department website.…
On Mon night, hours after #Trump’s inauguration, the DOJ removed at least 4 top ofcls from the part of the agency that operates the nation’s heavily backlogged #immigration courts.
