The statements were seemingly meant to satisfy anxious Democrats and others worried that the Justice Department excuse former President Donald Trump after MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported on a May 25 "Election Year Sensitivities" memo signed by Garland.
“No person is above the law in this country,” Garland said, USA Today reported. “I can’t say it any more clearly than that. There is nothing in the principles of prosecution and any other factors which prevent us from investigating anyone — anyone — who is criminally responsible for an attempt to undo a democratic election.”
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Garland has made comparable statements in the past, suggesting DOJ prosecutors will seek wherever the facts lead them. In his May 25 memo, Garland reaffirmed a 2020 memo from Trump-era Attorney General William Barr placing extra requirements on investigations into candidates in an election year.
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On Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco opposed the DOJ's Jan. 6 inquiry will not be hamstrung. This happened after Trump, who is expected to throw his hat in the 2024 ring, told confidants that it can be difficult for prosecutors to "get to you" as President, sources told Rolling Stone.
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As part of an unwritten tradition, prosecutors at the DOJ abstain from making moves such as implicating big-name contenders about 60 days before the election.
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Garland has faced objections from Democrats, such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), for dragging his feet on the DOJ's Jan. 6 investigations.
"It is unprecedented for Congress to be so far out ahead of the Justice Department in a complex investigation," Schiff told MSNBC host Ari Melber last week.
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The DOJ has prosecuted over 850 individuals for crimes regarding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has reportedly issued subpoenas against individuals who participated in an alternate elector scheme.
The Justice Department is investigating two lawyers who supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Authorities searched the home of former assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark, who drafted a letter to officials in six states to overturn their election results. And authorities seized the cellphone of John Eastman, one of Trump's personal lawyers who developed a scheme to have then-Vice President Mike Pence singlehandedly reject electors from states Joe Biden won.
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Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney and Democratic U.S. senator, said getting approval is standard practice for high-level investigations such as Cabinet officials or governors.
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“That is standard practice, folks, if you’re talking about a high government official,” Jones said in video tweeted in reaction to Garland’s memo. “I don’t think this is going to stop the Department of Justice from conducting any investigations that are currently ongoing that are the result of what happened before, during and after what happened Jan. 6."
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