Attorney General Merrick Garland says Justice Department ‘will not bend’ to political pressure


Attorney General Merrick Garland condemned attempts to politicize the Justice Department in a forceful speech on Thursday, addressing department staff and U.S. attorneys from around the country amid criticism from former President Donald Trump and his supporters.

Garland denounced the growing “escalation of attacks” on career staff, citing “conspiracy theories, dangerous falsehoods, and efforts to bully and intimidate public servants by repeatedly singling them out and threatening violence.”

"It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this Department simply for doing their jobs," Garland said from DOJ headquarters in Washington. "It is outrageous that you have to endure these baseless attacks for upholding the rule of law and doing what is right."

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s remarks come in response to claims by Donald Trump that the Justice Department has been weaponized against him amid his criminal prosecutions. Trump has also suggested he would politicize the department if he returned to the presidency.

Although neither Trump nor his allies were mentioned by name, Garland emphasized, "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."

Garland, speaking to applause, reiterated the department’s commitment to protecting the nation from becoming one where law enforcement is used as a political tool.

Trump and his allies have openly discussed plans to dismantle the Justice Department, including the FBI, or to use it to target political opponents. Trump has repeatedly accused the department under President Biden of being used to persecute him and his associates for political reasons, though he has provided no evidence. In a recent presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump repeated these claims, falsely alleging that the Biden administration was involved in state-level cases against him in Georgia and New York.

"They weaponized the Justice Department," Trump said. "Every one of those cases was involved with the DOJ."

During his speech, Garland highlighted his mission to safeguard the Justice Department’s independence from political influence since he was appointed in 2021. He noted steps taken to achieve this, such as restoring policies governing interactions between the department and the White House or Congress, revising guidelines for sensitive FBI investigations, and strengthening protections for journalists from law enforcement probes.

Garland concluded by expressing gratitude to DOJ staff and prosecutors for not "bending to politics" or "breaking under pressure," adding, "You deserve better."