AG Merrick Garland denounces 'dangerous' attacks on DOJ, counters GOP's politicization claims
WASHINGTON, DC: Attorney General Merrick Garland delivered a fiery speech on Thursday, September 12, to Justice Department staff and US attorneys nationwide, condemning efforts to transform the department into a political tool.
The speech at Washington's Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters comes amid increasing criticism and attacks from former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his allies.
AG Garland: “Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon, and our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics.” pic.twitter.com/5VYedZf26V
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) September 12, 2024
Merrick Garland criticizes rising conspiracy theories against DOJ
AG Merrick Garland expressed concerns over what he described as the “escalation of attacks” against DOJ's career staff over recent years.
He highlighted the spread of “conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods, efforts to bully and intimidate career public servants by repeatedly and publicly singling them out, and threats of actual violence.”
“It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this Department simply for doing their jobs,” he said.
“And it is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right and upholding the rule of law,” Garland added.
Republican's criticism against DOJ amid Donald Trump’s legal battles
AG Merrick Garland's statement comes as Donald Trump continues to claim that the Department of Justice has been weaponized against him following his ongoing criminal prosecutions.
The 78-year-old politician also suggested that he would politicize the department if reelected.
Without directly naming Trump or his allies, Garland rebuked these assertions.
“There is not one rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor, one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans, or different rules depending on one’s race or ethnicity,” stated Garland.
“Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics," he added.
Donald Trump’s ongoing allegations against DOJ
Donald Trump and his associates have openly discussed plans to restructure the Department of Justice and its law enforcement components, including the FBI, or to prosecute his political adversaries.
The former president has frequently claimed that the Justice Department under President Joe Biden is pursuing him and his allies for political reasons, though no evidence has been presented to support these claims, per CNN.
During the recent presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10, Trump reiterated these allegations.
“They weaponized the Justice Department. Every one of those cases was involved with the DOJ, from Atlanta and Fani Willis to the attorney general of New York and the DA in New York. Every one of those cases,” the GOP presidential nominee claimed during the debate.
“And then they say, ‘Oh, he’s a criminal.’ They’re the ones that made them go after me,” he added.
