The FBI squad that investigates allegations of fraud and corruption against members of Congress and other federal employees is being shut down. The unit worked on the leadup to special counsel Jack Smith's election fraud investigation of Donald Trump and his allies, NBC News reports. The move is another in a series by the Trump administration against units and officials handling public corruption cases, per the New York Times. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley recently complained to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi that the unit had been misused to execute political attacks, especially against Trump, and Grassley praised the decision. An advocate for Justice Department employees did not.
"This is yet another sign that it's open season for political corruption," said Stacey Young of Justice Connection, a network of department alumni. "The administration gutted the Public Integrity Section, neutered the US Attorney's Office in DC, and 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.'" An FBI official said the Washington field office is being reorganized, per the AP, and added that investigations into alleged corruption will continue.
But members of the squad apparently will be reassigned, per the Times, possibly to do immigration enforcement work. The special agent in charge of criminal matters at the Washington field office also was ousted from his job. Patel is shifting FBI resources into immigration enforcement, per NBC, in keeping with Trump's priorities. More changes at the Washington office are on the way, an FBI official said. (More FBI stories.)