Big changes are happening at the Justice Department, and they could have a huge impact on how crimes are prosecuted in the U.S. While the Trump administration is cracking down on certain offenses, it seems to be easing up on others—especially when it comes to white-collar crime.
For decades, both Democratic and Republican presidents have seen a steady decline in prosecutions for crimes like fraud, tax evasion, and political corruption. But under President Donald Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, that decline looks set to speed up even more.
Bondi has wasted no time in reshaping the Justice Department’s priorities. On her very first day, she sent out over a dozen memos outlining major changes. One of the biggest? Shifting resources away from investigating foreign political influence in the U.S. and instead focusing on cross-border crimes like drug cartels. She even shut down a special task force that was set up in 2017 to track foreign meddling in American politics.
The new approach means prosecutors will no longer go after Americans lobbying for foreign governments unless their actions look like “traditional espionage.” What that actually means isn’t clear, but experts warn it could make it easier for foreign interests to sway U.S. politics without consequences.
Aaron Zelinsky, a former federal prosecutor, says this shift is dangerous. “This isn’t just about reallocating resources—it’s about changing the very nature of enforcement,” he warns. In other words, some crimes might just stop being prosecuted altogether.
The Justice Department hasn’t commented on these changes, but its actions speak for themselves. One of the most high-profile cases that recently made headlines was the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He was accused of taking bribes from Turkish officials, but the Justice Department dropped the case. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove justified the decision by saying the charges were politically motivated because Adams had criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
But not everyone in the DOJ agreed. In fact, six federal prosecutors resigned in protest. The decision to drop the case—and the broader move away from white-collar crime enforcement—has led to concerns that other corruption cases could be abandoned, too.
Take, for example, Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar. He’s facing charges for allegedly working as a secret foreign agent for an Azerbaijani oil company and a Mexican bank. His trial is set for September, but many believe the Justice Department could drop his case just like it did with Adams.
That’s not the only shift happening. For decades, a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has made it illegal for American companies to bribe foreign officials. But under Bondi’s new directives, the Justice Department will only focus on bribery cases that involve drug cartels and transnational crime organizations.
And Trump himself seems to be on board. He recently signed an executive order putting FCPA enforcement on hold for six months, saying the law “gets in the way” of U.S. foreign policy.
But some experts say this won’t make much of a difference. Mike Koehler, a lawyer who specializes in FCPA cases, points out that prosecutions under this law were already rare. “We’re talking about pausing something that hardly ever happened anyway,” he says.
Along with these policy changes, the Justice Department is seeing a major shake-up in its leadership. Several top prosecutors have quit in recent weeks, including some who worked on high-profile corruption cases.
David Hubbert, a veteran tax prosecutor with 40 years of experience, resigned after being reassigned to an immigration-related task force. Others, including senior officials from the department’s Criminal Division and Public Integrity Section, also stepped down in protest of the Adams case and the broader policy changes.
While every administration has the right to set its own priorities, experts worry that these shifts could have serious consequences. White-collar crimes are already difficult to prosecute because they require long investigations and expert resources. If the government stops prioritizing them, many cases may never see the light of day.
Kristine Artello, a criminal justice professor, says the Justice Department’s new direction is alarming. “What’s worrying is that not only is the DOJ pulling back on white-collar crime enforcement, but other agencies—like the IRS—are being gutted, too.”
Past administrations, including Trump’s first term, have made similar shifts in priorities, often focusing on immigration and violent crime. But this time, experts say, the changes are more extreme.
For now, it’s unclear how these new policies will play out. But one thing is certain: the way justice is served in America is changing fast—and not everyone is convinced it’s for the better.
