Centrist: Garland Bungled Raid Fallout

Attorney General Merrick Garland “has seemed largely reactive and rote in dealing with questions over bias or abuse in his department” after the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, chides Jonathan Turley at USA Today. “If there was one occasion for total transparency, including the release of the FBI affidavit, this was that moment,” yet “there was no prepared statement or response for days, which allowed speculation and rage to grow.” This added to public mistrust of the bureau, with its “documented history of false statements to courts and falsified evidence in support of a previous Trump investigation,” even as Garland won’t name a special counsel for Hunter Biden. The raid has “historic sweeping political implications,” and while an AG “should not be motivated by optics in his decisions,” Garland “also cannot ignore optics when they undermine the integrity of his department.”