Casey Rips Barr Over Pittsburgh Involvement In Ukraine Probe

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey has urged Attorney General William Barr to take immediate steps to ensure that Pittsburgh-area law enforcement resources aren't being diverted to vet information on Ukraine.

In a letter to Barr, Casey expressed "serious concern" over the Department of Justice establishing a special intake process in U.S. Attorney Scott Brady's Pittsburgh office to review information on Ukraine obtained by Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal attorney.

"This new process has led me to question whether DOJ's leadership is more committed to serving the president's political agenda than the American people - particularly my constituents in (western Pennsylvania)," Casey wrote.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported Brady's office was examining material Giuliani obtained from Ukranian sources claiming to have damaging information on former Vice President Joe Biden and his family. Barr has acknowledged that the Justice Department is scrutinizing certain allegations related to the political probes that helped launch the impeachment inquiry into Trump, but has not confirmed Brady's office is involved; Brady's office has declined comment.

Casey's letter noted that the U.S Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh has worked hard to combat the opioid epidemic and is now battling an uptick in the use of cocaine, crack and methamphetamine. He suggested Brady's staffers should be concentrating on illicit drug use and trafficking rather than "investigations into (Biden) and the debunked theory alleging Ukranian election interference in 2016."