Columns, Justice, Politics

The Corruption of Merrick Garland

Below is my column in The Hill on the concerning record of Attorney General Merrick Garland on a variety of recent matters, including a frivolous privilege claim to withhold the audiotape of President Joe Biden during the Hur interview. There is a certain corruption of judgment that is evident from this and other decisions by Garland since he became Attorney General.

Here is the column:

This week, Attorney General Merrick Garland took to the pages of the Washington Post to lash out at critics who are spreading what he considers “conspiracy theories crafted and spread for the purpose of undermining public trust in the judicial process itself.” His column, titled “Unfounded attacks on the Justice Department must end,” missed the point.

It is Garland himself who has become the problem. The solution is in Wilmington, Delaware, where 12 average citizens just showed a commitment to the rule of law that seems to be harder and harder for the attorney general to meet.

Since his appointment, Garland has repeated a mantra that he is apolitical and would never yield to the pressures of politics or the White House. When he was nominated, I believed that claim and enthusiastically supported Garland’s confirmation. He was, I thought, the perfect man for the job after his distinguished judicial service as a moderate judge.

I was wrong. Garland’s tenure as attorney general has shown a pronounced reluctance to take steps that would threaten President Biden. He slow-walked the appointment of a special counsel investigating any Biden, and then excluded from the counsel’s scope any investigation of the massive influence peddling operation by Hunter Biden, his uncle and others.

However, it is what has occurred in the last six months that has left some of us shaken, given our early faith in Garland.

I have long been a critic of Garland’s failure to order a special counsel to look into the extensive evidence of corruption surrounding the Bidens. As I stated in my testimony in the Biden impeachment hearing, there is ample evidence that Biden lied repeatedly about his knowledge of this corruption and his interaction with these foreign clients.

However, a more worrisome concern is the lack of consistency in these investigations. First, Special Counsel Robert Hur found that Biden knowingly retained and mishandled classified material. However, he concluded that Biden’s age and diminished faculties would make him too sympathetic to a jury. It was less sympathetic than pathetic, given that this is the same man who is running for re-election to lead the most powerful nation on Earth. More importantly, Garland has not made obvious efforts to reach a consistent approach in the two cases by dropping charges based on the same crimes by Trump in Florida. (Such action would not affect the obstruction counts).

Second, Garland has allowed Special Counsel Jack Smith to maintain positions that seem diametrically at odds with past Justice Department policies. This includes Smith’s statement that he will try Trump up to (and even through) the next election. It also includes a sweeping gag order which would have eviscerated free speech protections by gagging Trump from criticizing the Justice Department. While Garland has said that he wants to give the special counsels their independence, it falls to him to protect the consistency and values of his department.

Garland’s most brazenly political act has been the laughable executive privilege claim used to withhold the audiotape of the Hur-Biden interviews. The Justice Department has not claimed that the transcript is privileged, but only that the audiotape of Biden’s comments is privileged. This is so logically disconnected that even CNN hosts have mocked it.

The Justice Department went further in court by adding conspiracy to absurdity as part of its unhinged theory. It asserted a type of “deepfake privilege” on the basis that the release of the audiotape could allow AI systems to create fake versions of the president’s words. It ignores that there are already ample public sources now to create such fake tapes and that, by withholding the real audiotape, the Justice Department only makes such fake copies more likely to arise and ensnare the unwary.

Most importantly, the arguments of a “he-who-must-not-be-heard” privilege or a deep-fake privilege are ridiculous. Garland knows that, as would any first-year law student. Yet, he is going along with a claim that is clearly designed to protect Biden from embarrassment before the next election. It is entirely political and absurd.

After stumbling through a half-hearted defense of the audiotape decision before he was held in contempt of Congress, Garland was faced with another clear test of principle. Three House committees (Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means) this month referred for prosecution cases of perjury against Hunter Biden and his uncle, James Biden. Despite what appear to be open-and-shut allegations that they lied to Congress, most everyone in Washington believes that Garland and the Justice Department will slow-walk and then scuttle the referrals to protect the Bidens.

This is the same Justice Department that seemed on a hair-trigger to prosecute Trump officials for perjury and contempt after referrals from Democrat-controlled committees.

The questions at issue were not “gotcha” traps, like showing up at Michael Flynn’s office to nail him on his description of a meeting with Russian diplomats. These were some of the most-discussed questions heading into Hunter Biden’s long-delayed appearance before the committees.

Hunter is accused of lying about his position at Rosemont Seneca Bohai, a corporate entity that moved millions of dollars from foreign individuals and entities to Hunter Biden. He also allegedly lied about the identity of the recipient of his controversial message to a Chinese businessman, in which he threatened that his father was sitting “right next to me” and would join him in retaliating against the Chinese if they did not send millions. They promptly wired the money as demanded.

Hunter’s answers appear to be demonstrably untrue. Yet, there is little faith that the Justice Department will allow the matter to be presented to a grand jury. If Garland’s pledge to remain apolitical were widely accepted, there would be little question about the prosecution of such compelling claims.

Garland now appears entirely adrift in his own department. While mouthing platitudes about being beyond politics, he continues to run interference for the Biden White House. He appears to be looking to close aides for such direction.

He should instead look to those 12 people in Wilmington, Delaware.

Despite facing overwhelming evidence of Hunter Biden’s guilt, his legal team pursued a jury-nullification strategy. Wilmington is Bidentown, the hometown for the president and his family. An array of Bidens, including the first lady, lined up behind Hunter during the trial, in case anyone forgot that fact.

Yet the jury convicted Hunter on all counts without any hesitation. Despite sympathy for a recovering drug addict in a town that has overwhelmingly supported the Bidens for decades, “nobody mentioned anything about political motivations” in the jury room, as one juror noted. “I was never thinking of President Joe Biden,” said another.

Garland needs to show a modicum of that courage and principle as attorney general. He could start by dropping the farcical privilege claims over the audiotape and sending the referrals to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the same priority treatment afforded to Trump officials like Flynn.

As it stands, few believe that will happen, despite Garland’s repeated line about transcending politics. It is not the mantra that is in doubt, but the man.

Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University School of Law. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon and Schuster, 2024).

564 thoughts on “The Corruption of Merrick Garland”

  2. If you thought Garland was a moderate as a judge you were truly blind. I hope that all of this has opened your eyes to the utter destruction of the federal justice system brought by democrats.

  3. The damage of the weaponized Biden/ Obama DOJ and FBI is incalculable and generational

    Its the most destructive behavior by government I’ve ever seen

    1. I just hope Garland goes to jail for a long time. The way he lied about moms at school board meetings to non violent Jan 6 people getting massive prison sentences to proud boy 15 years for conspiracy but garland can block or charge for anything against others

  4. Boom! Is this one of those “Mic Drop!” sort of post, that the hipsters like to point out on social disinfomedia?

    Srsly, amazingly fine work Prof Turley.
    You are becoming a national treasure, Sir!

    1. I agree it’s refreshing to read rigorous honesty from an intelligent man

  5. This maybe the last blog on earth that truly believes in free speech allowing (allegedly) grown ups to act like 8th graders on the playground.

  6. Did I miss a comment on the raiding at Mar a Lago which in my mind is his most outrageous act.

    1. Mr. Turley, while appearing to be impartial, is no fan of President Trump. Witness his words from text of the article referencing Garland’s nomination for AG…’He was, I thought, the perfect man for the job after his distinguished judicial service as a moderate judge.’ Then, even underinformed average Americans knew Garland was slimy. Insider Turley didn’t. In his favor, of course, is his willingness to admit he was wrong. I trust his analysis now, whereas before this Lawfare season I was a skeptic.

  7. Garland was out on a revenge against the repubs for not getting the scotus job. He wanted to get mcconnel but biden probably told him to leave him alone unless Mitch acts up against him so mitch stayed quiet. Then he went after trump per their political op and now that has totally failed to stop Trump. SO knowing that trump is going to win the best thing garland can do to stop his own indictment when trump appoints his special counsel to investigate all of them is for Garland to buck biden and drop the 2 cases on trump, fire all those operatives around him, and declare that he is appointing a spec counsels on biden. Otherwise garland is going to be indicted but doing the acts I said he should do would have put him in a positive light with a trump spec counsel when biden and his whole corrupt gang get indicted. The Florida doc case will be the one where garland will be sucked into for the indictment outside of dc judges and juries to protect him. If garland thinks the old doj he runs is going t still be around top protect him when trump wins then he is making an error there all going to be fired. Garland will get the worst of the sentence because he was a judge and doj official and he twisted the law in a political op to destroy trump. Now trump will get his revenge and garland better start trying t todo what I said to make himself look better in the eyes of justice.

    1. The reason they do this is that they know there will be no consequences.
      The deep state is at the very least “deep”.

    3. This is quite the quaint fantasy
      One I’d love to see come true.
      There’s a minor problem though. I absolutely believe that no way no how will Biden be allowed to lose. And he know it too. That’s why he and the left are operating with zero fear f reciprocity or future accountability. Do you really think Obama, The Clinton’s, Brennan, Coney, the entire IC, most or Congress including RINO’s like Paul Ryan, all these clowshoes, are gonna allow Trump to win- he’s an existential threat to most of DC.

      The fix is in…again. Silly folks think there’s actually a lead that can be too large to be corrupted. That’s absurd.
      We’re talking about folks who have done anything and everything to stay in power. Killing JFQ, Ruby Ridge, Waco, MLK, creating ISIS, jailing the 1/6 defendants..the list goes on and on. Cripes, they let a virus free that killed millions, destroyed the world’s economy, and shattered faith in public health systems, all to damage a presidency.

      If you believe there ate guardrails or limits to how far they will reach to stay in power, history fully disagrees with you.

  8. My guess is that it’s all a political payback for being snubbed for the SCOTUS seat. All he’s done is prove snubbing him was the right move.

    Fun fact: He’s cousins with Former Iowa Governor and Trump Administration Ambassador to China Terry Brandstad.

    1. Perhaps he was a “frequent flyer” to Lolita Island or they have something else on him.

  9. I salute Prof. Turley for admitting that he is wrong about AG Garland

    1. You beat me to it. It takes a brave and honorable person to own up to being wrong when they have such a large following and format. Now, how about dims voter fraud?

  11. I knew the day would come when Merrick Garland would be exposed for the fraud that he is and there it is for all the world to see and history to remember. Really, Mitch McConnel, probably the most corrupt person in D.C., really did America a great service by deep-sixing this scalawag’s nomination to SCOTUS. I’m not sure any other Republican would have had the steely nerves that Mitch has to do it. We really dodged a bullet there.

  12. The video of Obama is proof that they have instructed anyone in Joe’s orbit on what to do if he freezes in that goofy stance.

    Just touch him on the arm.

    He will snap right out of it.

    What the fvck?

    Can any of you apologists point to a single video of any sitting President being led around or touched on the arm in this manner?

    This is pathetic.

    1. Joe Biden is the best President of our lifetime. GDP is up, inflation is down and our adversaries are quaking in their boots at his mighty presence. DJT drove the country into the ground, he’s a felon!
      Joe is just putting on an act so everyone thinks he’s dumb and senile, the when the time is right BOOM!

      1. Love it. But you didn’t blame near enough on Trump. Even your ear ache is his fault.

      4. Well, yeah … Biden should win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a 4-year series that should have been cancelled after the first week.

      6. It’s SO depressing to see how we have such an uninformed electorate.

        1. ” uninformed electorate” is code for ‘really stupid and narrow minded citizens”

      8. Pull your head out of your donkey. You can’t honestly believe any of the trash coming out of your ignorant mouth?

      10. Living in a country where non discerning fools like the guy who wrote to this can vote is trial

      12. He GiGii. You need to got to your doctor and get that jock itch in your mouth treated!

      13. Sarcasm? It’s difficult to tell without facial expressions.

  13. The Left keeps claiming (arbitrarily) that there is no “legislative or investigative purpose” for seeing the video of Hur’s interview with Biden.

    Without seeing the video, how does one know that?

    And don’t claim: Because transcript. That’s a deflection. The issue is the video.

  14. We all know that DC is filled with farcical criminals that lie to our faces while they loot the debt treasury into blood red hell.
    They enforce their crimes with the imprimatur of defending democracy and being of the utmost honorable character.
    The 14 trillion of natural resources in Ukraine has nothing to do with any of it, they tell us, the phone call of President Trump to Ukraine was a massive felonious crime.
    Maybelline would go broke trying to dress up the sows that they are.

  15. “and all the kings’ horses and all the kings’ men couldn’t put (Biden) back together again”

  16. Mr Turley – moderate means “little to no moral convictions”. Mr Garland has had an axe to grind from the moment he was denied a Supreme Court seat. His “check all the boxes” resume just never seemed clean.

    1. Turley is a milquetoast who has no clue what time it is. He thinks playing it down the middle between Jesus and Satan is being evenhanded.

  17. Gigi is KJP

    Cheap fakes!!!

    Called the video of Obama waking Joe from his stupor, “manipulated”

    Pathetic.

  19. Thank God that deep state pos Garland was prevented from being confirmed to SCOTUS. This goes to show you deep and how well camouflaged the deep state really is.

    1. PS – if it backfires I would not be surprised to see the WH backflip and then try to convince us, ‘That video of KJP gaslighting about deepfakes was itself a deepfake. RUSSIA!’. These people are hilarious/sick. 😂/🙄 And that includes Garland.

      1. I think “sick” is not the word. Perhaps desperate or frantic is closer to the truth. They fear that Trump will seek “vengeance” on them. He won’t, he may seek accountability though. They think it’s the same thing.

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