Attorney General Merrick Garland responded to criticism of the Justice Department in an op-ed published Tuesday in the Washington Post, calling claims that the department has been politicized “false.”
Without naming them, Garland alluded to former President Trump and his allies, who have repeatedly claimed the DOJ was involved in the New York criminal case against the presumptive GOP nominee, who was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records by a Manhattan jury. .
“We have seen an escalation of attacks that go well beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal, and dangerous,” Garland wrote.
Garland said the attacks come in the form of “threats” aimed at quashing Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith's efforts to prosecute the former president.
JOHNSON FLOATS OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL AMID JACK SMITH'S TRUMP INVESTIGATION
Attorney General Merrick Garland rejected “false claims” that the Justice Department was politicized under his leadership in an op-ed for the Washington Post. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Trump lawyer Will Scharf claimed during an appearance on ABC in early June that Matthew Colangelo, a former DOJ official, helped Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pursue the case against Donald Trump .
“Well, how about the fact that Matthew Colangelo was standing over Alvin Bragg's shoulder when he announced this verdict,” Scharf said. “I mean, Colangelo was the number three guy in Biden's Justice Department who suddenly disappears and shows up as deputy prosecutor, just as Trump's trial in New York is starting to move forward. You want to talk politics…”
The attorney general said the attacks on the officials were “absurd and dangerous” because they were just doing their job.
“The Department of Justice makes decisions regarding criminal investigations based solely on the facts and the law. We do not investigate people because of their last name, political affiliation, size of their bank account, their origin or their appearance We investigate and prosecute violations of federal law – no more, no less,” Garland said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE MEDIA AND CULTURE COVERAGE
Former President Donald Trump attends UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena on July 8, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
In addition to responding to political criticism of the department, Garland also condemned violent threats against DOJ personnel.
“These heinous threats of violence have become commonplace in an environment in which the Department of Justice is under attack like never before,” he wrote, arguing that the attacks were attempts to “intimidate and intimidate” officials. .
He said disagreements over policy were normal, but “conspiracy theories, lies, violence and threats of violence aimed at affecting policy outcomes” were not.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Unfounded attacks on Department of Justice employees are dangerous to the safety of citizens. They are dangerous to our democracy. This must stop,” Garland wrote.