Garland Becomes Trump’s Target After F.B.I.’s Mar-a-Lago Search - The New York Times

Garland, a bookish former judge who during his unsuccessful Supreme Court nomination in 2016 told senators that he did not have “a political bone” in his body, responded, as he so often does, by not responding.

The Justice Department would not acknowledge the execution of a search warrant at Mr.

Garland is hoping to navigate the sprawling and multifaceted investigation into the actions of Mr.

Mueller III, the former special counsel, during his two-year investigation of Mr.

“Garland has said that he wants his investigation to be apolitical, but nothing he does will stop Trump from distorting the perception of the investigation, given the asymmetrical rules,” said Andrew Weissmann, who was one of Mr.

“Under Justice Department policy, we were not allowed to take on those criticisms,” Mr.

“Playing by the Justice Department rules sadly but necessarily leaves the playing field open to this abuse.”.

Trump to fill the political void with reckless accusations of a witch hunt while the special counsel confined his public statements to dense legal jargon.

Some of the most senior Justice Department officials making the decisions now have deep connections to Mr.

The Mar-a-Lago search warrant was requested by the Justice Department’s national security division, whose head, Matthew G.

Garland, despite his silence this week, has made a point of talking publicly about the investigation into the Jan.

6 attack on the Capitol on many occasions — even if it has only been to explain why he cannot talk publicly about the investigation.

Trump’s actions a central political theme through the midterm elections and into 2024, providing Mr.

Even though the Justice Department does not generally talk about cases, guidelines preventing prosecutors from publicly discussing criminal investigations include exceptions to the mum-is-the-word norm.

“In this era, does the public interest require more?” said Tali Farhadian Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, who believes the department can better educate the public on how the rule of law works — without running afoul of laws governing grand jury material and ethical considerations.

But Justice Department officials are painfully aware of the risks they are facing in such a politically sensitive inquiry, and many are bracing for the investigations Republicans have explicitly threatened to conduct if they take back the House in November’s elections.

search at Mar-a-Lago appears to have been focused on Mr.

For now, there is no indication that the search, which was approved by a federal judge, is related to the department’s widening investigation into the plan to create slates of electors that falsely said Mr.

Trump’s final White House counsel.

Eisen, who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Mr.

In a statement on Monday night about the Mar-a-Lago search, Mr.

“The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization

A Justice Department spokeswoman had no comment