It consolidates into one unit the U.S. Department of Justice's oversight responsibilities for prosecuting criminal abuses of the public trust by elected and appointed government officials.
PIN has about 30 prosecutors who "travel the country to help local United States attorney’s offices develop complex and often politically contentious corruption cases".
Since 1978, it has supervised administration of the Independent Counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires the Attorney General to report to the United States Congress annually on the operations and activities of the Public Integrity Section.
Though he was convicted in 2008 and lost his bid for re-election, in 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder threw out the case after it emerged that PIN prosecutors "failed to turn over evidence that could have helped Mr. Stevens win acquittal".
[5] After this blow to its reputation, it was criticized for "being gun-shy" because it had closed out without pressing charges a "series of long-running investigations into current or former members of Congress," including Senator John Ensign of Nevada and Representatives Tom DeLay of Texas, Jerry Lewis of California, Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, and Don Young of Alaska.