Sign of the times – dismantling an FBI anti-corruption squad

Looks like it’s one more step to allow corruption to go unchecked in the United States. In the Washington, DC FBI field office, they are disbanding the squad which investigates allegations of fraud and public corruption against members of Congress and other federal officials. The Associated Press reported that this “action comes as the Trump administration has overhauled its approach to enforcement of public corruption, including by moving to dramatically slash the size of a prestigious section of Justice Department prosecutors responsible for pursuing cases of fraud and corruption against elected officials”.

This is very concerning as it seems to be a dedicated effort to dismantle the many enforcement tools to fight corruption. If this were to happen in other countries, in the past, the reaction by anti-corruption experts would point to a weakening in the country’s stance on governmental corruption. Unfortunately, the United States is not taking the lead but is dismantling the programs which were international standards regarding corruption enforcement methodologies, when addressing governmental corruption.

What can be done? What is needed for citizens and civil society is to step up and take action. In other countries, this has included performing investigations, which then have shared with law enforcement agencies, as one example. Creativity and determination to support anti-corruption efforts will be essential. No government should slide into corruption. If the representatives are being limited, then the citizens can and should do more.

Link:

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-public-corruption-squad-trump-0478a9f5884b443e1f0403a1f6dad49e