WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick Garland told NBC News on Tuesday that he was outraged by the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, saying authorities must do everything they can to ensure this type of “horrific attack ” never happen again.
“This should not happen in America. This type of security breach is not acceptable,” Garland said in an exclusive interview that will air on “NBC Nightly News” Tuesday night. “This kind of horrific attack on a former American president simply cannot continue. We have to make sure we stop this.”
Garland said Trump was struck by a bullet and that there was “no doubt” that Trump was “the subject of an assassination attempt,” even though authorities were still trying to determine a motive. Garland said it was “extremely alarming” that the shooter was able to get so close to the former president.
“Democracy will not survive if people decide that the way they are going to get the results they want, or whatever other reason they may have, is to kill someone,” Garland said. “That’s why we have to find out what happened here, why it happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
For more from NBC News’ interview with Merrick Garland, tune in to “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” tonight at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT or check your local listings.
With less than 100 days until the 2024 presidential election, Garland also warned that political violence poses a major threat in America’s “most polarized society,” pointing to a “quite frightening” increase in threats.
“Political violence goes against what makes this country different from most other countries. We are a democracy, people make their views known vehemently, but in the end, they resolve matters by voting, having their representatives vote and then accepting the results,” said Garland.
Garland also warned about threats to law enforcement, saying that when people “call out” the names of individual career prosecutors and FBI special agents, they increase the risk posed to those individuals.
“I think the personification of these issues, the naming of individuals and the naming of professionals who are just doing their jobs, puts people at risk,” Garland said.
Already with Trump once again sowing doubts Regarding the result of the November elections, Garland also warned that “democracy will not survive” if the losers of the elections deny the result.
“This is a democracy, and in a democracy, people, as I said, argue with each other vehemently, they yell at each other, they disagree with each other, and then they vote. And that’s how we resolve issues,” Garland said. “There will always be a winner and a loser… and that person’s supporters will always be upset. But in a democracy, we have to accept the results. Otherwise, democracy will not survive. I can say that America’s elections are the safest thing in the world.” planet and everyone has to accept this if our democracy is to survive.”
Ahead of the first election certification since the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in 2021, Garland said the Justice Department’s job was to ensure “fair, safe and secure” elections and that the DOJ would do everything in its power to ensure that. it happens. Garland said there were “lessons learned” from Jan. 6 that were taken into consideration this time around.
Garland also said he disagreed with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that his appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional, a decision that could theoretically impact all special counsel appointments.
“I chose this room for this interview. This is my favorite room in the Department of Justice. It’s a law library. For over 20 years, I was a federal judge,” Garland said. “Do I look like someone who would make this basic error about the law? I don’t think so.”
Following the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, Garland stressed the importance of independence and separation between the Justice Department and the White House. This is a major concern for DOJ alumni who supported Vice President Kamala Harris because they fear that an unrestrained Trump would use the Justice Department in a second term to carry out his personal vendettas and protect himself and to their own political allies of criminal responsibility.
“I think the lessons of Watergate are that there has to be a separation between the Department of Justice and the White House, whether it’s a legally required separation or a political separation necessary to ensure confidence in the rule of law, to ensure the confidence that our law enforcement efforts are not political one way or another, we have to have that distinction and that is what we have implemented in this administration,” said Garland.
Garland, who appointed special counsels who investigated President Joe Biden and secured the conviction of his son Hunter Biden, said it was a “very difficult job” to get the message across to Americans that the Justice Department was working independently.
“Internally, what we do is make sure that every prosecutor knows that their job is to do the right thing in an individual case, to exclude politics in any form from their considerations,” Garland said. “That has been a message at the Justice Department since I arrived, in the years after Watergate. Which, as part of our principles of federal prosecution, is part of every federal prosecutor’s DNA.”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
