DOJ Public Corruption Head Quits, Avoiding Trump Transfer (1)

Justice Department public corruption chief Corey Amundson has stepped down rather than accept the Trump administration’s transfer to a sanctuary cities enforcement initiative, according to a resignation letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The veteran career prosecutor, who Trump’s former Attorney General William Barr appointed to lead an office that’s recently brought criminal charges against lawmakers from both parties, wrote Monday that his resignation is effective immediately.

Amundson was among multiple senior career DOJ officials President Donald Trump quickly removed from their positions following his swearing in and ordered to join an office focused on reviewing the legality of state and local sanctuary cities, said four people familiar with the transfer.

Amundson spent 23 years overseeing political prosecutions and internal department ethics reviews in Washington and violent crime in Louisiana.

His removal has alarmed current and former department employees due to his office’s historic political independence. The office is responsible for sensitive criminal probes and prosecutions of elected officials and judges for bribery and other misconduct.

Amundson led the Public Integrity Section as it brought criminal charges against Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), and during a recent investigation of Trump ally and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).

“I spent my entire professional life committed to the apolitical enforcement of federal criminal law and to ensuring that those around me understood and embraced that central tenet of our work,” Amundson wrote to Acting Attorney General James McHenry. “I wish you and the Department’s leadership every success in the coming years as you work to pursue the President’s criminal enforcement agenda, including to protect all Americans from the scourge of violent crime and public corruption.”

The reason for his reassignment, which was reported earlier by the Washington Post and other outlets, remains unclear, and DOJ spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Amundson hasn’t attracted widespread attention over his office’s link to the Justice Department investigations of Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith—who’d previously held Amundson’s public integrity chief job—mentioned in a January report that his office consulted the public integrity section during its election interference case.

“Corey is a guy whose career and the work he’s done at the department track the priorities of the administration,” said a former Trump DOJ official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He listed violent crime, immigration enforcement, partnering with and backing law enforcement, and the non-partisan prosecution of corruption cases as Amundson’s career hallmarks.

“The decision to move him from public integrity is perplexing to a lot of people,” the former official added.

Amundson previously ran DOJ’s office of professional responsibility and was acting US attorney in the Middle District of Louisiana.