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…