Even as we are awash in immense problems in our country thanks to our convicted felon President, Donald Trump, there is also the narrative, perhaps not unexpected, of the blame game against Democrats, focusing on what went wrong in the November election, getting depressed, and nearly forgetting completely what had been accomplished in the four years of the Biden-Harris (B-H) Administration. 
Before too much more time passes and we are in the midst of the 2026 midterms, we should take stock of those accomplishments. This is not only for balance, our mental health, and trying to remain positive and hopeful, but also to try to learn from our mistakes as a nation and take more than a few steps forward when we next have the chance at the national level.
Trump and his cronies, following at least in part on the anti-democratic goals of Project 2025 (about which voters were warned for months, we must not forget), are fashioning the Department of Justice in their own image and to their own (largely illegal and unconstitutional) advantage. Trump and others on the right are fond of (erroneously) claiming that the B-H DOJ weaponized the department against conservatives. Those on the left also did not hold back in criticizing the Garland DOJ for opposite reasons: for not going after Trump earlier following the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
The successes of B-H initiatives were significant, but here we will focus on what Merrick Garland’s DOJ actually did accomplish on behalf of the American people. This is not to disagree that perhaps a more aggressive approach to Trump may have led to more accountability than he has actually faced, but there is also the possibility that, even if Garland had made more moves earlier, Trump and his army of lawyers (does he pay them?…) would have found dozens of ways to delay, delay, delay, since he is so adept at it…
Preliminaries
First, let us see what the DOJ is supposed to do for Americans, according to statute and long-time practice.
- According to the DOJ website, “the Justice Department’s mission is to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights. Our work across the Department – including all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, our law enforcement agencies, grantmaking components and litigating divisions – is guided by these three co-equal priorities.”
- The Office of the Attorney General began in 1789 – a part-time position. It expanded to become the Department of Justice through an act of Congress signed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870.
- A sampling of important missions of today’s DOJ include combating corporate crime and domestic terrorism. Most Americans may not be adversely affected on a daily basis by corporate crime, but if it is left unchecked, it “jeopardizes jobs, savings, pensions, our economic security, and increasingly our national security.”
The DOJ’s battle against corporate crime serves “to uphold the rule of law, to strengthen financial markets, and to reassure the public that no person and no company is above the law.” Similarly, domestic terrorism – in which we have seen a spike since Trump first came on the scene 10 years ago – is “the most urgent terrorism threat we face today and provides a framework to improve the federal government’s response.”
Next, let us see, in brief, what Trump is doing with the DOJ, largely in the service of the far right and its roadmap, Project 2025.
- In 2.0, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi, as US Attorney General. Experts predicted that, if confirmed, she would be a loyal foot soldier of Trump – and that has proven to be correct. Not only had Bondi served the state of Florida: she (along with “her top lieutenants”) had also “previously served as Trump’s personal defense attorneys. Under their leadership, the department has fired prosecutors who worked [January 6th] Capitol riot cases or investigated Trump, pushed out senior officials at the FBI and dropped cases against the president’s political allies.”
- DOJ is now undergoing a mass exodus of very experienced attorneys, between firings, resignations, taking the administration’s deferred resignation program or retiring early, especially in the Civil Rights Division, US attorneys appointed under the B-H Administration, 15 young January 6th attorneys, and attorneys fighting political corruption and white-collar fraud.
Some of those who have resigned are listed here. - Trump and Bondi, while unbelievably claiming they are ending weaponization of the Department, have also fired most Inspectors General; dropped the Eric Adams corruption case in New York; pulled back on enforcement of foreign bribery and lobbying statutes and cryptocurrency investigations; and gave pardons “to all but one Republican member of Congress convicted of felonies over the last 15 years.”
- One example of a long-time DOJ employee who has resigned in protest against actions by Bondi et al is Ryan Crosswell, who worked in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, DC. While it is normal for enforcement and policy priorities to change following an election, especially with a change in party, what Trump and Bondi are doing, according to Crosswell, is very different. Crosswell asks, “Will the Justice Department that will drop charges against people who acquiesce to its demands bring charges against those who won’t? That’s definitely a concern because there’s not much of a distinction.”
We can, of course, see several themes and patterns here:
- Dedicated civil servants, like most previous DOJ attorneys who were merely doing their jobs (and doing them very well), are part of the supposed “deep state” targeted not only by Trump and Bondi but also by far-right activists like Steve Bannon.
- Getting rid of high-caliber professionals who have taken an oath to the Constitution and the rule of law ensures (hopes Trump) that he and his fellow criminals cannot be prosecuted.
- Trump’s attacks on anything having to do with Joe Biden or even Barack Obama is part of Trump’s retribution campaign – a highly personal ambition and often found in psychopaths.
- The attacks are also part of the authoritarian playbook – instill widespread fear and force compliance with the dictator’s wishes.
Highlights of the Garland DOJ
Given this history – both historical and under Trump, so far – let us see for comparison what Garland and his very talented and experienced team did in four short years.
- October 2024. DOJ, working with state, local, and federal partners, “arrested 42 members and associates of the SFV Peckerwoods, a San Fernando Valley, California-based white supremacist street gang, on a 76-count federal grand jury indictment alleging they engaged in a years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs – including fentanyl – illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.”
- September 2024. With Iran currently at the forefront of our national life, this Garland’s announcement about Operation North Star is a particularly noteworthy accomplishment of the Garland DOJ. “We are here today to announce the results of the fourth phase of Operation North Star, a five-month initiative undertaken by the U.S. Marshals Service and law enforcement partners to target the most dangerous fugitives and violent offenders in 10 metropolitan areas across the country.”
The indictment announcement charged “three hackers working for the Iranian government with material support for terrorism, computer fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft for their roles in these cyberattacks.” It is also significant that the B-H DOJ was going after Iran in part because it was trying to undermine Trump’s 2024 campaign… In addition, Garland’s DOJ was combating antisemitism, contrary to accusations by Trump 2.0: “In recent months, the [Garland] Department has brought charges, obtained plea agreements, and obtained sentences for more than 35 defendants for criminal acts motivated by antisemitic hate.” - April 2024. The DOJ added three new cities – St. Louis, MO; Jackson, MS; and Hartford, CT – to the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The initiative built on the successful model launched in Houston in 2022 and expanded to Memphis in 2023. “The VCI surges law enforcement tools and resources to target gangs and other violent groups that are threatening the safety and security of communities in cities across the nation.”
- January 2023. Garland announced, on the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, that the DOJ had made significant headway in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the following sentences: 351 cases adjudicated and sentences received of federal defendants; 192 incarceration sentences; 87 defendants sentenced to home detention, including approximately 14 also sentenced to incarceration. Of course, Trump escaped justice for his part in January 6th then effectively undid all this excellent DOJ work on behalf of the American people…
- May-September 2022. Early in 2022, Garland had directed “all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices to develop and implement district-specific violent crime reduction strategies.” By September, “the FBI and our local and state law enforcement partners arrested nearly 6,000 alleged violent criminals and gang members and seized more than 2,700 firearms connected to criminal conduct.” The arrests took place in New Mexico, California, Texas, Illinois, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, and DC.
These examples should help illustrate some of the stellar work done by Merrick Garland and the B-H DOJ on our behalf – contrary to some narratives that downplay or obscure it.
Final thoughts for Americans
Looking at the Department of Justice, how it has traditionally functioned, and how Trump and his far-right supporters and sycophants are reshaping it enables us to ask yet more critical questions as we move through the 250th anniversary of the events that created us as a democratic republic.
- Who, in fact, weaponized or is weaponizing the DOJ – the Democratic B-H Administration and Merrick Garland or the current far-right Trump Administration and the Republicans in Congress who support him?
- Was the B-H DOJ truly “weaponizing” the Department against conservatives? This seems farcical when those conservatives consistently lie (to Americans and in court proceedings) and break the laws of our country. Do we not want our federal law enforcement branch to go after criminals?…
- What does the future of the DOJ look like, years from now, following the decimation of the experienced work force that has bolstered it for decades?
No administration, no president, no elected official is perfect. When we go to the ballot box each election, we are voting for flawed human beings. We are also dependent upon the information we receive about these candidates, and we are often swayed by family circumstances, our financial situation, personal preferences, even prejudice. How do we assess a candidate – a flawed human being – when we cast our votes? Will we try to learn the facts about them and about the issues from reputable sources? Will we use our brains, in addition to our hearts and pocketbooks, to exercise our precious right to vote, or will we rely on conspiracy theories, disinformation (from people who truly do not care about us…), and lies?
Let us thank Merrick Garland and his team of professionals for what they did for the American people. Let us fight in every way we can against the fast-moving authoritarianism that we alarmingly see around us…