By Rep. Matt Gaetz for RealClearPolitics
Today, Merrick Garland held a pep rally at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for his employees. Why now? Well, two nights ago, we heard President Donald Trump take aim at the weaponization of DOJ, and we heard Kamala Harris’s non-response. Trump clearly won that exchange, and the Swamp now has to play clean-up for her mess.
RELATED: U.S. Borrowing Tops $1.9 Trillion So Far This Year
Remember that in the debate, the ABC moderators interrupted Trump’s answer about illegal immigrant crime to push fake FBI statistics, which Trump swatted aside. In her response, rather than talk about immigration, Harris brought up that Trump has been prosecuted. Trump explained that each of the cases against him were fake, failing, and coordinated by Garland and the Biden-Harris administration. Of course, we know this is true. But the icing on the cake is that Harris’ final non-answer was that Donald Trump would weaponize the DOJ.
They are telling on themselves.
But the Harris campaign strategy, and the orders to Garland are clear: blame Trump for things Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are doing right now.
Frankly, it has to be tough to be an employee of Biden and Harris. You might be asked to violate Departmental Protocol and do a pre-dawn raid of a former President but turn a blind eye to a legally worse situation involving Joe and classified documents in his garage. You might be asked to surveil your neighbors at church, or at school board meetings. You might be asked not to prosecute real crimes involving immigration, opioids, or Black Lives Matter, but asked to prosecute grandma for praying on a sidewalk.
It must be demoralizing to go into work every day like this.
And if you complain? If you follow the rules, but go to the Inspector General, or to Congress, or to your boss? Forget that. In violation of law, you might find yourself without a job, suspended without pay, sidelined, or with your security clearance revoked. That happened under Garland and Harris to Marcus Allen, to Stephen Friend, and to so many others.
RELATED: FACT CHECK: In Presidential Debate, Harris Deflects on Border Record
This is unacceptable.
So while Harris and Garland use their platforms to gaslight America, saying that the Department is “proud” to remain “independent” and free from “political interference,” ask yourself: who is really politicizing the justice system?
Who is bussing in tens or hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants into our cities, merely for their votes? It’s Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump. Harris and the current administration are responsible for the tragedies on the border every day.
Who refuses to say the names of Laken Riley, or Rachel Morin, or Jocelyn Nungaray, because it’s not politically expedient? Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump.
Who has fundraised for violent criminals in Minnesota to keep them out of jail? Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump. It’s the California soft-on-crime policies that Harris brought to that state which are tearing our cities apart, even, perhaps especially in the deep red rural areas in swing states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin that she wants to target.
Whose DOJ is sending letters to county clerks across the country, and to Secretaries of State, warning them of prosecution if they get too aggressive in protecting our elections? Kamala Harris’s, not Donald Trump’s. Just this past week states acting under federal law to clean up their voter rolls were threatened by Garland. You can’t make this up.
Whose DOJ has failed to investigate election issues across the country, from the election technology being wide-open to foreign access and control, to ballots being mailed without proof of citizenship? Kamala Harris’s, not Donald Trump’s.
RELATED: Tim Walz’s Democrats Are Not the Blue Dog Democrats
And whose DOJ has made head-fakes at consumer protection, while letting drug prices soar, and who was the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which has led to Medicare Part D dropping 21 drugs and raising premiums by the double-digits, with far higher increases to come in 2025? Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump.
America is at a crossroads, and Merrick Garland is right to be concerned about the politicization of DOJ and the federal government, but maybe he and Kamala Harris should look in the mirror.
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) represents the 1st Congressional District of Florida. He is a member of the 117th Congress currently serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.