Merrick Garland Vows To Protect DOJ From Being 'Used As A Political Weapon'

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday fiercely defended the independence of the U.S. Department of Justice, calling the threats toward public servants “outrageous.”

In a speech addressed to the workforce of the department, Garland said that “we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon” or for law enforcement to be “treated as an apparatus of politics.”

Garland said he has witnessed DOJ personnel become a target of “dangerous” and “outrageous” attacks during the three and a half years he’s been leading the department.

“These attacks have come in the form 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,” Garland said.

The attorney general praised the people in his department for their continued commitment to their work in an impartial manner in the face of threats.

“The way you do that work makes clear that the public servants of the Department of Justice do not bend to politics,” he said. “And that they will not break under pressure.”

During Garland’s tenure, the DOJ has been targeted by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who has claimed without any evidence that his criminal cases are a result of an effort orchestrated by Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden to put him behind bars.

“Every one of those cases was started by them against their political opponent. And I’m winning most of them and I’ll win the rest on appeal,” Trump said during the debate Tuesday evening.

“Every one of those cases was involved with the DOJ, from Atlanta and [Fulton County District Attorney] Fani Willis — to the attorney general of New York and the DA