Public Integrity Section

The Public Integrity Section is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local elected and appointed public officials.

Administrative history

The Public Integrity Section holds exclusive jurisdiction over prosecution of alleged criminal misconduct by federal judges, monitors the investigation and prosecution of election and conflict of interest crimes, and, since 1978, has supervised administration of the Independent Counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act. As of 2005, the section had a staff of approximately 28 attorneys, including experts in extortion, bribery, election crimes, and criminal conflicts of interest.

Created in 1976, the Public Integrity Section consolidates into one unit the U.S. Department of Justice's oversight responsibilities for prosecuting criminal abuses of the public trust by elected and appointed government officials. Besides prosecuting selected cases involving federal, state, or local officials, the section also gives advice and assistance to prosecutors and agents in the field in handling public corruption cases. The section's Election Crimes Branch, created in 1980, supervises the U.S. Department of Justice's nationwide response to voter fraud, campaign financing offenses, and other election crimes.

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the Attorney General to report to the United States Congress annually on the operations and activities of the Public Integrity Section. Annual reports to Congress since 1982 are available on the section's website.

Notable cases

On October 27, 2008, U.S. Senator Ted Stevens was successfully prosecuted and found guilty of all seven charges against him. The case was prosecuted by Principal Deputy Chief Brenda K. Morris, Trial Attorneys Nicholas A. Marsh and Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section, headed by Chief William M. Welch II, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph W. Bottini and James A. Goeke from the District of Alaska.

On February 13, 2009, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan cited William M. Welch II, Brenda K. Morris, Patty Merkamp Stemler (Chief of the Justice Department Criminal Appeals Section), and another Justice Department attorney for contempt of court. Judge Sullivan amended the contempt citation on February 14, 2009 to remove the fourth attorney. The contempt citation was for failing to turn over to defense counsel for former Senator Stevens documents relating to a complaint by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent alleging misconduct by prosecutors in the Stevens case. Judge Sullivan had ordered on February 3, 2009, that the documents in question be given to defense counsel. In the contempt citation, Judge Sullivan described the conduct of the Justice Department's lawyers as "outrageous."

On February 16, 2009, the Justice Department stated in a court filing that it had removed six attorneys from "litigation relating to allegations of misconduct in (the case against former Senator Stevens)." The six attorneys are William M. Welch II, Brenda K. Morris, Nicholas A. Marsh, Edward P. Sullivan, Joseph W. Bottini, and James A. Goeke.

External links

• Public Integrity Section (official website)