The FBI's Washington Field Office will be folding its federal public corruption squad, three people told NBC News.
The squad is the same one that assisted special counsel Jack Smith with his investigation into President Donald Trump. The criminal charges filed by Smith were dropped following the election.
The FBI special agents assigned to the squad will be reassigned, NBC News said. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had criticized the work of the public corruption squad for its partisan investigations.
"My oversight has shown time and again how the FBI's CR-15 unit was weaponized to execute one-sided political attacks, particularly against President Trump and his allies," Grassley said in a statement. "It's good news it's been shut down after I exposed the unit for its misconduct. Transparency brings accountability, and the FBI must ensure all records are preserved as my investigations continue."
FBI field offices have been assigning more agents to immigration enforcement, sources told NBC News. The goal is to have 2,000 FBI agents across the country working full time on immigration enforcement.
The move to shutter the federal public corruption squad comes amid the Justice Department slashing its Public Integrity Section, which also investigated public corruption. An FBI spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
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