Lawfare Archive: The Public Integrity Section, Threats, and Criminal Contempt with John Keller
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2026
⏱️ 81 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From May 27, 2025: John Keller, now a partner at Walden, Macht, Haran, & Williams, channeled his experience as the former Chief of the Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice to discuss three recent developments with James Pearce, Lawfare Legal Fellow. They discussed proposed changes to the Public Integrity Section that could hamper the Justice Department’s ability to investigate and prosecute corruption matters in a fair and impartial matter.
Keller weighed in on whether the Justice Department has a viable prosecution theory for criminal threats or incitement in the case of former FBI Director, Jim Comey. And they discussed criminal contempt: what it is, how it differs from civil contempt, the recent criminal contempt probable-cause finding by Judge Boasberg in an Alien Enemies Act case in the District of Columbia, and whether the federal rule permitting appointment of a special prosecutor outside the Justice Department may pose constitutional separation-of-powers concerns.
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Transcript
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| 1:59.3 | Thank you. caring about the things that matter and for supporting lawfare. I'm Marissa Wong, Internet Lawfare, with an episode from the Lawfare Archive for May 30th, |
| 2:05.0 | 2026. On May 27th, the Department of Justice reportedly opened a criminal investigation into |
| 2:11.9 | E. Jean Carroll and whether or not Carol perjured herself in the course of her civil lawsuit against |
| 2:17.2 | President Trump in |
| 2:18.1 | 2004, in which Carol accused Trump of sexual abuse and defamation, and won a $5 million |
| 2:24.5 | civil judgment against him. The new inquiry seems to be the latest chapter in the president's |
| 2:29.5 | continued use of the Justice Department to investigate and pursue his political adversaries. |
... |
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