The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department falsified crime statistics to make the city appear safer, according to multiple law-enforcement officials. The probe, confirmed by AP, NBC News and the Washington Post, is being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, led by Jeanine Pirro. Federal interest intensified after MPD Commander Michael Pulliam was placed on paid leave in May amid allegations that he reclassified serious offenses as lower-level crimes. The police union has made similar claims, and the department recently settled a whistle-blower retaliation lawsuit over data manipulation. President Donald Trump, who on Aug. 11 invoked emergency powers under the Home Rule Act to place the MPD under temporary federal control, publicly accused city officials of issuing “fake” crime numbers. City leaders, including Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, dispute the charge, noting police figures that show violent crime down roughly 27 percent so far this year. Investigators are examining whether manipulation extended beyond a single commander and whether any federal fraud or civil-rights statutes were violated, people familiar with the matter said. No charges have been filed. The Justice Department, MPD and the mayor’s office declined to comment on the ongoing inquiry.