Attorney General Merrick Garland finally broke his silence on the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump. After keeping the American people waiting more than half an hour after the announced statement time, he confirmed the raid and that he personally approved it, but refused to give any more details. Mr. Garland did, however, address the allegations that the bureau’s actions were politically motivated, saying, “I will not stand by silently when their integrity is attacked.” Additionally, the AG said he has petitioned the federal court to have the actual search warrant made public.
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The DOJ maintains that the search was intended to be a quiet event, out of the eyes of the press, but Donald Trump apparently derailed that plan by announcing the raid later in the day on social media. Despite the uproar that followed, no government official openly responded until AG Garland’s statement today, leaving Mr. Trump and those other Republicans who spoke out to drive the narrative.
One could be forgiven for assuming today’s statement comes only because the outrage and its coverage has grown too loud to be ignored – especially considering the dearth of details given. Even the left-wing establishment has called for transparency, if for different reasons. “Of course, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department should have a strong interest in preventing the investigation from looking as though it was driven by a partisan political motive,” The New York Times declared Wednesday. Garland said that the decision to make the search was not “taken lightly.”
