‘We Follow the Facts and the Law Wherever They Lead’: AG Defends Trump Prosecution
The "public interest requires a speedy trial" in election-interference case, Garland adds
Attorney General Merrick Garland publicly defended the federal prosecution of Donald Trump, adding that the “public interest requires a speedy trial,” particularly in the case of the former president attempting to subvert the 2020 election.
The Justice Department’s work isn't politically motivated, despite the claims by Trump and his allies, Garland said in an on-camera interview with CNN.
Trump’s facing two separate federal criminal cases overseen by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Garland in 2022.
Specifically, Trump has been charged with hoarding classified and sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate long after the end of his term in the White House, and then trying to obstruct the investigation into those documents.
And separately, he has been charged with trying to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election, trying to illegally remain in office beyond the inauguration of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump denies any wrongdoing, and repeatedly refers to the prosecutions as a political “witch hunt,” driven by Biden.
He's once again running for president, setting up a likely rematch against Biden.
In an interview Friday, Garland was asked about the widespread perception among Republicans that the federal prosecutions of Trump are politically motivated.
"Of course it concerns me. What we have to do is show by the acts that we take that we’re following the law, we’re following the facts,” the attorney general said. “The prosecutions that you’re talking about were brought last year, and the special prosecutor has said from the beginning that he thinks public interest requires a speedy trial, which I agree with."
Trump is scheduled to stand trial in a Washington DC courtroom on the charges related to election interference in March, but ongoing appeals by Trump and his lawyers could delay that.
“Look, we have reasserted and clarified the norms of this Justice Department. We follow the facts and the law wherever they lead. Politics is not a part of our determinations. It would be improper and it’s not,” added Garland, who joined the Biden administration in 2021 after a long career as a federal judge. “The Department has regulations about the appointment of special counsels, and we follow those regulations. In each case, we have appointed people who are formerly veteran career prosecutors, whatever their current position is.”
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