Merrick Garland, in '60 Minutes' interview, denies charges against Donald Trump are linked to 2024 campaign
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Merrick Garland denied Sunday that two federal cases against Donald Trump were timed to prevent his reelection as president in 2024.
“The Justice Department has general practices about not making significant, overt steps or charging within a month or so of an election, and we are clearly outside that time frame in these cases," Garland said in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes." "Prosecutors, special counsel they follow the facts and the law where they lead."
Corresponent Scott Pelley asked whether the timing of the cases was meant to hurt Trump’s chances for reelection.
“Well, that's absolutely not true,” Garland said. “Justice Department prosecutors are nonpartisan. They don't allow partisan considerations to play any role in their determinations.”
Much of the interview covered the ground similar to the issues raised in the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 20. Garland restated his independence from the White House and from Congress, saying he represents the American people.
Garland also denied interfering with investigations involving Trump or Hunter Biden, the president's son. Garland said he hasn't been involved with special counsel Jack Smith about the Trump cases or special counsel David Weiss about the Hunter Biden case.
Garland noted that Weiss was appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware by Trump and began his investigation of Hunter Biden during the Trump administration, and Garland assured senators at his confirmation hearing he wouldn't interfere.
“I promised at my nomination hearing that I would continue him on in that position and that I would not interfere with his investigation,” Garland said of the Hunter Biden inquiry.
Hunter Biden faces three federal gun charges, with basically all alleging that he lied about being addicted to drugs when he bought a pistol in 2018. The indictment last month came two months after the collapse of a plea deal over tax and gun charges, which could have left him facing no prison time.
Congressional Republicans criticized the plea agreement as a "sweetheart deal" and said Weiss should be removed from the case. Instead, Garland named Weiss a special counsel and the investigation continues.
Garland explained the Justice Department’s policy of not commenting on pending cases was based on the goal of protecting the privacy and civil liberties of the person under investigation and to protect witnesses from intimidation.
“Investigations proceed in many different directions, eventually coming to a fruition, a decision to charge or not charge about a particular thing or not,” Garland said. “And if witnesses and potential subjects knew everything that the investigators had previously looked at and were about to look at, it could well change testimony. It could well make witnesses unavailable to us.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Merrick Garland denies charges against Trump were timed to 2024