Pennsylvania Democrat says US Attorney’s Office should prioritize opioids rather than ‘Russian propaganda’ from Giuliani

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) on Monday in a letter called on federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania to reject information gathered in Ukraine and transmitted to them by Rudy Giuliani.

Casey, in a letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, expressed particular concern that the Western District of Pennsylvania is reportedly serving as a conduit for information from Giuliani.

“As you know, Mr. Giuliani has repeatedly pushed Ukraine to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and the debunked theory alleging Ukrainian election interference in 2016,” Casey said in the letter, citing testimony from former National Security Council official Fiona Hill that such theories originated in Russian propaganda.

Casey went on to question whether such matters are an appropriate use of Western District resources, noting the particular impact of the opioid crisis in the state.

“Community leaders in Western Pennsylvania, including the United States Attorney’s Office, should be applauded for their efforts to reduce the opioid epidemic in the region,” Casey wrote. “Unfortunately, it is clear that as Western Pennsylvania has tried to close the door on the opioid crisis, more doors have opened for other types of illicit drug use and drug trafficking. Just recently, U.S. Attorney Brady commented on the need to fight the ‘fourth wave’ of the crisis after identifying an increase in incidents in Western Pennsylvania involving cocaine, crack methamphetamine.”

“Given these concerns, I urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that the DOJ does not continue diverting law enforcement resources away from the important law enforcement priorities in the Western District of Pennsylvania,” Casey concluded.