Casey condemns assignment for U.S. attorney
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., condemned the Trump administration on Monday for assigning the U.S. attorney’s office in Pittsburgh to review information on Ukraine and former Vice President Joe Biden supplied by Rudy Guiliani, a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump.
Mr. Casey, in a letter to Attorney General William Barr, expressed concerns that the Justice Department would be ignoring urgent public safety initiatives in the Pittsburgh region, like the opioid epidemic, to examine Mr. Giuliani’s materials.
He described Mr. Giuliani’s investigation — which claims to show Ukraine interfered with the 2016 presidential election and that Mr. Biden and his son are linked to corruption there — as a politically motivated, debunked theory propagated by the Russians.
“Law enforcement resources in Western Pennsylvania should not be diverted from combating serious safety issues to vetting Russian propaganda from Mr. Giuliani,” Mr. Casey wrote.
Mr. Barr confirmed on Feb. 11 that his department had established a special intake process to receive information from Mr. Giuliani — and that U.S. Attorney Scott Brady in Pittsburgh had been chosen to receive the information.
The U.S. Attorney’s office has not commented on its role in the case.
A letter from the department to the House Judiciary Committee last week explained the new intake process does not “grant any individual unique access to the department” and that the department “regularly assigns U.S. attorneys to coordinate or focus on certain matters.”
Prosecutors in Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh FBI have handled high-profile cases in recent years involving Russian and Eastern European hackers and other cybercriminals.
But the new intake process was confirmed just days after Mr. Trump was acquitted in a three-week Senate impeachment trial — a proceeding that revolved around whether Mr. Trump has abused the power of his office by ordering Mr. Giuliani to investigate a political rival. Mr. Biden is running for the Democratic nomination to face Mr. Trump in this November’s presidential election.
In his letter, Mr. Casey pointed out Mr. Brady’s efforts in fighting the opioid epidemic. The White House labeled southwestern Pennsylvania a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which opens up federal grants and allows for greater collaboration among the region’s law enforcement agencies to stem the flow of illicit drugs.
Mr. Casey wrote that Mr. Brady cited an increase in drug incidents involving cocaine, crack and meth — evidence of another wave of drug abuse connected to the opioid epidemic.
“I am very concerned that the DOJ is diverting essential law enforcement resources away from urgent public safety concerns in the Western District of Pennsylvania in order to accept and review ‘information’ that is Russian propaganda and political smears against the president’s political rivals,” Mr. Casey wrote.
“Any materials related to these claims should be rejected outright by the DOJ,” Mr. Casey added.
The Justice Department declined to comment.