Attorney General Merrick Garland is condemning “an escalation of attacks” against the Justice Department and pushing back against what he says are the “conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods…and threats of actual violence” that endanger the department’s employees.
Garland’s defense of the federal employees who work for the Justice Department will be part of a speech he’s delivering to staff Thursday.
Billed as an address about the department’s norms, the attorney general will praise the efforts of federal prosecutors and investigators and stress the independence of the Justice Department.
“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,” Garland is expected to say, according to excerpts of his remarks obtained by CBS News.
Garland’s comments come as the presidential election enters its final stretch, nearly four years after the tumultuous presidential transition amid the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“The public servants of the Department of Justice do not bend to politics,” the attorney general is expected to say. “We will fiercely protect the independence of this Department from political interference in our criminal investigations.”
The Justice Department has weathered heavy criticism from Republicans and Democrats for its handling of various politically sensitive probes, including investigations into former President Donald Trump, President Biden and the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
Trump was charged in two cases by special counsel Jack Smith — one for alleged conduct tied to his efforts to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election, and another now-dismissed case brought for alleged mishandling of classified information. He and his allies have accused the government of “weaponizing” the Justice Department against them.
Another special counsel, Robert Hur, investigated President Joe Biden after classified documents from his time as vice president were found in his private residence and personal office. Hur opted not to charge the president and notably characterized Mr. Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” a description that prompted an outcry from some Democrats. And Hunter Biden, the president’s son, pleaded guilty last week to numerous counts of tax fraud filed by a third special counsel, David Weiss.
Because of the political nature of the probes, Garland elevated all three men to special counsel roles and has said they’ve operated independently. Still, they’ve faced setbacks.
One setback came in July, when the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that afforded former presidents — including Trump – immunity from prosecution for “official acts” taken while in office. The case was brought by Trump as a challenge to Smith’s election-related indictment against the former president.
Some of the alleged conduct the high court ruled to be out of bounds for federal prosecutors involved Trump’s interactions with Justice Department officials in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
“We will not allow this Department to be used as a political weapon,” Garland is expected to say.
There has been an increase in threats against Justice Department employees and other law enforcement officials, members of Congress and their staff in recent years. In June, the attorney general highlighted in congressional testimony “a worrying spike in threats of violence against those who serve the public.”
“Those threats have targeted members of Congress, police officers, judges, jurors, election workers, and the Justice Department’s own employees,” he said.
The attorney general is highlighting these threats again Thursday, against the backdrop of a tight presidential race and a fraught political landscape.
“It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this Department simply for doing their jobs,” Garland will tell the workforce. “It is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right and upholding the rule of law…You deserve better.”