Garland Blasts ‘Unfounded Attacks’ Against DOJ: ‘Dangerous for Our Democracy’

Attorney General Merrick Garland is taking aim at what he says are “unfounded” attacks against the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In an op-ed published by The Washington Post, Garland noted a man was arrested last week for threatening to bomb an FBI field office.

“These heinous threats of violence have become routine in an environment in which the Justice Department is under attack like never before,” he continued. “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.”

The op-ed noted such “attacks come in the form of threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special counsel’s prosecution of the former president.”

Additionally, Garland stated, “They come in the form of conspiracy theories crafted and spread for the purpose of undermining public trust in the judicial process itself. Those include false claims that a case brought by a local district attorney and resolved by a jury verdict in a state trial was somehow controlled by the Justice Department.”

“They come in the form of false claims that the department is politicizing its work to somehow influence the outcome of an election. Such claims are often made by those who are themselves attempting to politicize the department’s work to influence the outcome of an election,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sexual encounter he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.