Garland: GOP attacks on DOJ 'are dangerous for our democracy'

Attorney General Merrick Garland sounded the alarm on attacks against the Justice Department, calling a barrage of “unfounded” accusations “dangerous for our democracy.”

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Garland offered a full throated defense of his department, arguing GOP attacks on the Justice Department threaten both the safety of its employees and democracy itself.

“Disagreements about politics are good for our democracy. They are normal. But using conspiracy theories, falsehoods, violence and threats of violence to affect political outcomes is not normal. The short-term political benefits of those tactics will never make up for the long-term cost to our country,” Garland wrote.

“Continued unfounded attacks against the Justice Department’s employees are dangerous for people’s safety. They are dangerous for our democracy. This must stop.”

The op-ed is the latest in a string of efforts from the mild-mannered attorney general to more forcefully respond to a GOP that has made investigations into the DOJ a cornerstone of the 118th Congress.

The Justice Department has been a punching bag for the GOP since President Biden took office, with the House quickly forming a “weaponization” subcommittee focused in part on DOJ’s work.

The department has also been central to the GOP impeachment investigation, including allegations from Republicans the Justice Department showed Hunter Biden preferential treatment during its investigation into his failure to pay taxes.

Even with that steady drumbeat, the GOP targeting of the department has only grown stronger in the wake of both federal and state cases prosecuting former President Trump.

Garland made clear he sees the attacks on his department — which often spur direct threats against DOJ employees — as a safety issue.

The attorney general rattled off a thread of recent examples, including a bomb threat at an FBI field office.

“In recent weeks, we have seen an escalation of attacks that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal and dangerous,” he wrote.

“We will not be intimidated by these attacks. But it is absurd and dangerous that public servants, many of whom risk their lives every day, are being threatened for simply doing their jobs and adhering to the principles that have long guided the Justice Department’s work,” he wrote.

Though the Justice Department has no involvement in the state-level cases, the House Judiciary Committee has nonetheless suggested DOJ could have been involved in the New York hush money trial where a jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts. 

Garland again called it a conspiracy theory to suggest the federal agency had any input in the case, which was brought solely at the discretion of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

And he pointed to numerous instances of House GOP investigators calling in career DOJ officials, which he called “efforts to bully and intimidate our career public servants by repeatedly and publicly singling them out.”

Republicans have over the last few years railed against what they see as a  “two-tiered” justice system carried out by DOJ — borrowing a phrase used to denote harsher penalties often given to people of color or those with limited resources.

Garland also addressed those claims in broad terms. Though he did not cite any examples, U.S. attorneys are currently prosecuting Hunter Biden, as well as Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), with the two Democrats accused of improperly using their office.

“We do not investigate people because of their last name, their political affiliation, the size of their bank account, where they come from or what they look like. We investigate and prosecute violations of federal law — nothing more, nothing less,” Garland wrote.

“We do this not only because of the principles that have long guided our work, but also because we know that our democracy cannot survive without a justice system that ensures the equal protection of law for all its citizens.”