WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. But he doesn’t think he’ll be put in that position.

“I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard,” he said on CBS “60 Minutes.” “And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen.”

The Justice Department is at the center of not only indictments against Trump that include an effort to overturn the 2020 election and wrongly keeping classified documents, but also cases involving Biden’s son Hunter, the aftermath of the riot at the U.S. Capitol and investigations into classified documents found in the president’s home and office. Garland has appointed three separate special counsels.

Garland has spoken only sparingly about the cases and reiterated Sunday he would not get into specifics, but dismissed claims by Trump and his supporters that the cases were timed to ruin his chances to be president in 2024.

“Well, that’s absolutely not true. Justice Department prosecutors are nonpartisan. They don’t allow partisan considerations to play any role in their determinations,” Garland said.

Garland said the president has never tried to meddle in the investigations, and he dismissed criticism from Republicans that he was going easy on the president’s son, Hunter, who was recently indicted on a gun charge after a plea deal in his tax case fell apart. Hunter Biden is due in a Delaware court this week.

“We do not have one rule for Republicans and another rule for Democrats. We don’t have one rule for foes and another for friends,” he said. ”We have only one rule; and that one rule is that we follow the facts and the law, and we reach the decisions required by the Constitution, and we protect civil liberties.”

Garland choked up when talking about his concerns over violence, particularly as judges and prosecutors assigned to the Trump cases got death threats.

“People can argue with each other as much as they want and as vociferously as they want. But the one thing they may not do is use violence and threats of violence to alter the outcome,” he said. “American people must protect each other. They must ensure that they treat each other with civility and kindness, listen to opposing views, argue as vociferously as they want, but refrain from violence and threats of violence. That’s the only way this democracy will survive.”

  • morphballganon@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    He’s been dragging his heels

    What experience do you have with this type of case? What familiarity do you have with how long they usually take?

      • gacorley@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        That article just seems to be looking for reasons to be mad. Investigations take time. And the repeated mentions of “The T word” are silly. Treason (which the article you linked never actually states, weirdly, when that has to be the word) is explicitly defined in the US Constitution. Other convictions would be just as devastating to Trump and show what he did without having to have a Supreme Court case about whether he was technically levying war.

        • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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          1 year ago

          There already was an investigation. Mueller’s report said he did crimes, but that you probably can’t prosecute a sitting president. Then he stopped being a sitting president and Garland just sat on it doing nothing.

          • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Exactly and look how long it’s taken almost 4 fucking years and still committing crimes. Many times Garland as flat out refused to act. He scared and he also as a bias toward Republicans because he is one. How he got to be the Attorney General I never understand. He is spineless.