During his questioning, Durbin received commitment from Mr. Duva that if confirmed, he will strengthen the Public Integrity Section (PIN) at DOJ; Trump’s DOJ has only two prosecutors in PIN compared to 30 at the end of the Biden Administration
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Andrew Tysen Duva, nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, about the Public Integrity Section (PIN) at the Department of Justice (DOJ). PIN staff has been reduced from approximately 30 prosecutors at the end of the Biden Administration to now only two attorneys. Earlier this week, Durbin met with Mr. Duva, who reassured the Senator that he believes PIN plays an important role and that he intends to rebuild it with additional trial attorneys so that they may effectively oversee and prosecute public corruption cases.
“There is a longstanding requirement that prosecutions of public officials be reviewed by PIN’s career prosecutors to ensure that they are not politically motivated. Attorney General Bondi has reportedly eliminated this requirement. When we met, you told me that you thought PIN played an important role in the process. Do you agree that PIN prosecutors should review prosecutions of public officials?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Duva responded: “Public corruption prosecutions have an absolute place—both in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and in the Criminal Division; and I will have discussions with Deputy Attorney General [Todd] Blanche because I believe the Criminal Division should have a footprint in those prosecutions in evaluating cases at the national level.”
Durbin then asked Mr. Duva about President Trump’s political vengeance against those who have “wronged” him. Durbin specifically cited the indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The indictments were hastily brought under the direction of Lindsey Halligan, a Trump loyalist installed as the interim U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.
“I said to my staff how impressive our meeting was, and they said, ‘what will he do when he gets the Comey call? What will he do as an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Attorney’s Office when a political figure in this Administration says this is what I want you to do? Prosecute this person. Whether it’s a Member of Congress or someone who has wronged the President.’ You said you’ve done the job the right way for 18 years and I have no reason to believe you have not. The question is, whether or not you’re going to stand by that when you’re faced with that moment. It could be a call from the White House, it could be a call from the Department of Justice, it could be a tweet by the President of the United States instructing you to prosecute an individual that you know there’s no evidence against. So, let me ask you, Mr. Duva, what will you do?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Duva responded that he will stand by his oath. He continued to say, “I will always do one thing: and that is [to] apply the facts to the law in any case.”
Durbin then asked Alexander Coker Van Hook, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, about the crime rate in Shreveport, Louisiana. Recent data shows that Shreveport has a higher murder rate than Chicago.
“Is violent crime a problem in Shreveport?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Van Hook didn’t answer directly and instead responded that crime everywhere is a problem.
“Do you think you need the National Guard to fight crime in Shreveport, Louisiana?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Van Hook responded, “I don’t think we need them, but they would be welcomed.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
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