Merrick Garland, then principal associate deputy attorney general, speaks to journalists in Oklahoma after a hearing for bomber Timothy McVeigh in April 1995. “He just turned to me and he said, ‘I need to go,’ ” recalls Jamie Gorelick, then the deputy attorney general, for whom Garland served as principal associate deputy attorney general. “Who knew Attorney General Merrick Garland would ride to predecessor Bill Barr’s rescue?” chortled the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. “I’m very fond of and a great admirer of Attorney General Garland,” Whitehouse added. Then again, the paradox of his position is that if he declares his grand strategy for depoliticizing the Justice Department, he will be accused of politicizing the Justice Department, and his work will be ruined.

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2021 15:59 UTC