WASHINGTON − As President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration looms, Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the Justice Department Thursday against claims that it has been weaponized, and warned of a need for independence from the White House.
Garland made the remarks in a farewell address to Justice Department staff four days before Trump takes office Monday. The department has become a political hot potato as Trump has pilloried two federal criminal cases it brought against him. President Joe Biden also has decried two cases brought against his son, Hunter Biden.
The cases against Trump have dissolved in the wake of his election victory, while Joe Biden pardoned his son following convictions in the gun- and tax-related cases.
“I know that, over the years, some have criticized the department, saying it has allowed politics to influence its decision-making,” Garland told Justice Department staff.
“You have worked to pursue justice, not politics. That is the truth, and nothing can change it,” Garland said.
Garland appointed special counsels to lead investigations of Trump, Joe Biden, and Hunter Biden, in a move designed to reduce concerns about potential political interference because special counsels have more day-to-day autonomy than ordinary federal prosecutors.
Special counsel Jack Smith ultimately brought two prosecutions against Trump, one alleging Trump unlawfully tried to overturn the 2020 election and the other alleging he mishandled classified documents after leaving office.
Special counsel Robert Hur chose not to pursue charges against Joe Biden after an investigation into mishandling classified documents, while special counsel David Weiss pursued charges and got convictions against Hunter Biden for tax crimes and for illegally acquiring and possessing a gun. Hunter was found guilty by a jury of the gun charges and pleaded guilty to the tax charges.
In a press release on his decision to issue a full and unconditional pardon for Hunter Biden covering 11 years, Joe Biden claimed Hunter had been singled out because he was the president’s son.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” Biden said.
Trump’s attacks on the prosecutions he faced have been unrelenting.
“‘Justice’ Weaponization is a very dirty game to play, and it can have repercussions far greater than anything that Biden or his Thugs could understand,” Trump posted in December of 2023 on Truth Social.
Jack Smith should be “thrown out of the country,” Trump said in a radio interview in October.
Garland noted Thursday that political figures in both parties have alleged bias at DOJ.
“That criticism often comes from people with political views opposite from one another, each making the exact opposite points about the same set of facts,” Garland said. “But the story that has been told by some outside of this building about what has happened inside of it is wrong.”
As of August, the Justice Department has brought charges against 1,500 individuals who allegedly broke the law during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Nearly 950 of those defendants were convicted and sentenced, according to the department.
However, Trump – who told his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s 2020 election win – has pledged to issue “major pardons” for Jan. 6 defendants.
It’s not clear how far the promised pardons might go. Vice President-elect JD Vance said on “Fox News Sunday” this past weekend that those who committed violence “obviously… shouldn’t be pardoned.” Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi condemned violence against law enforcement at her confirmation Wednesday, saying she would look at each case file if asked to advice Trump on Jan. 6 pardons.
Garland didn’t address the potential pardons Thursday, but he praised those under him for having “brought to justice those who kicked, punched, beat, and tased law enforcement officers protecting the Capitol that day.”
“And you pursued accountability for that attack on our democracy wherever it led, guided only by your commitment to following the facts and the law,” Garland added.
Garland also urged the importance of adhering to post-Watergate norms promoting investigative and prosecutorial independence from the White House.
“It is the obligation of each of us to follow our norms not only when it is easy, but also when it is hard – especially when it is hard,” he said.
During Trump’s first administration, Trump tried to get the Justice Department to prosecute rivals, according to multiple reports on that time period.
For instance, Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, told federal prosecutors Trump asked him to direct the department to investigate and prosecute Hillary Clinton in 2017, according to the Mueller report. The New York Times reported that in 2018, Trump asked White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II about ordering the prosecution of Clinton and former FBI director James Comey.
Bondi said at her confirmation hearing that she believes the Justice Department “must be independent and must act independently.”
Several past statements from Trump have fueled worries that a DOJ commitment to independence could come under strain, such as his June, 2023 post on Truth Social asking, “When will Joe Biden be Indicted for his many crimes against our Nation?”
