Garlands Tells DOJ to Pursue Justice, Follow Norms in Farewell Speech

Attorney General Merrick Garland advised his colleagues to “follow our norms” and pursue justice, not politics, in his final address at the Department of Justice on Jan. 16. “Our norms are a promise to treat like cases alike—that we will not have one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for friends and another for foes,” Garland said. The norms, Garland stressed, include guaranteeing the independence of the DOJ’s investigations and prosecutions from both the White House and Congress. The outgoing attorney general also weighed in on criticism that the Justice Department is corrupt and politically motivated, a viewpoint expressed by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies....