Merrick Garland rebukes 'unfounded attacks' on Justice Department officials in farewell speech [View all]
Source: NBC News
Jan. 16, 2025, 4:24 PM EST
In a farewell speech to Justice Department staffers, outgoing Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appeared to rebuke attacks from President-elect Donald Trump and his allies who have "wrongly criticized" the department as politically motivated. “The story that has been told by some outside of this building about what has happened inside of it is wrong. You have worked to pursue justice, not politics. That is the truth and nothing can change it," Garland said.
The outgoing attorney general also emphasized the importance of the independence of his agency, amid fear from some Senate Democrats this week that Trump's pick to lead the department, Pam Bondi, will take marching orders from the next president. Trump has repeatedly attacked the justice system as politicized and corrupt, taking aim especially at the prosecutors, Department of Justice officials and the judges presiding over criminal cases against him.
The norms of the Justice Department, Garland said Thursday, "include our commitment to guaranteeing the independence of the Justice Department from both the White House and the Congress concerning law enforcement investigations and prosecutions."
He added, "We make that commitment not because independence is necessarily constitutionally required, but because it is the only way to ensure that our law enforcement decisions are free from partisan influence.”
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/merrick-garland-rebukes-unfounded-attacks-justice-department-officials-rcna188026
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