Attorney General Merrick Garland will defend the Justice Department’s independence and rally Justice Department staff to defend its mission in his farewell speech Thursday.
Garland took office in 2021 and vowed to reinstate the department’s norms of distance from the White House and Congress, and to try to depoliticize investigations.
“Independence is not a constitutional necessity, but because it is the only way to ensure that law enforcement decisions are free from partisan influence,” Garland said, according to excerpts from a prepared farewell address. We are the ones who make that promise.”
But Garland’s term ended with Democrats angry that the investigation into Donald Trump ended up extending beyond the 2024 election and ultimately firing him after Trump’s reelection, and Garland and the Biden administration. He will end his term claiming that he weaponized the Justice Department by prosecuting Trump.
“I know that only an independent Justice Department can protect the safety and civil rights of everyone in our country,” Garland will say, according to prepared remarks. “And we know that only an independent Department of Justice can decide whether a person will be investigated or prosecuted based solely on the facts and the law.”
Garland plans to defend the work of career Justice Department officials who have received threats for their work on politically sensitive investigations and could face retaliation from the incoming Trump administration.
“I know that over the years there have been people who have falsely criticized you, saying that you influence decision-making in politics. “They often come from people with different views, each making diametrically opposed claims about the same set of facts,” Garland’s prepared remarks said.
“I know that you face baseless attacks simply doing your job, while at the same time risking your lives to protect our country from a variety of threats, both domestic and foreign. And that much is required of you now. But before I leave, I want to ask you one more thing: remember who you are and why you started working here in the first place. I am a patriot that I am sworn to support and defend.”
Garland’s farewell event Thursday at the Justice Department will also include remarks from outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger.
