DOGE Plan to Cancel the U.S. Attorney’s Office Lease in Corpus Christi Reversed. Jon Muschenheim Speaks with News Outlet Valley Central
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reversed its decision to cancel the U.S. Attorney’s Office lease in Corpus Christi after terminating it in February, a move that left federal prosecutors scrambling. After a week of uncertainty, DOGE decided to keep the lease, which houses about 20 assistant U.S. attorneys handling drug and immigration cases from Border Patrol checkpoints in South Texas.
Last year, Corpus Christi prosecutors secured 655 indictments, while Victoria had about 80. The McAllen Division, one of the busiest in the U.S., handled over 2,000 cases.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Gregor Wynne Arney partner, Jon Muschenheim, said he doubted that closing the Corpus Christi office would save taxpayer money.
“If we’re not going to have work from home and you’re going to eliminate the office space, they’re going to have to put those people somewhere,” Muschenheim said.
“From small acorns, giant oaks grow, right? The law enforcement model of convincing someone to cooperate on a low level and kind of working up the chain happens all the time,” said Muschenheim, who spent more than 26 years working in the Corpus Christi Division. “And the checkpoint cases are the beginning for a lot of long-term cases.”