Rachel Maddow Rips Merrick Garland For Continuing To Protect Donald Trump

MSNBC s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to clean house in the Justice Department following its misbehavior during the Trump administration or risk setting a precedent that future corrupt presidents could take advantage of.

The hope following ex-President Donald Trump s use of the department to go after his enemies and reward his friends had been that Garland would root out misconduct, come clean and then move on, said Maddow.

But President Joe Biden s Justice Department is actually sticking with some Trump-era practices, Maddow explained, highlighting its shocking decision to continue defending Trump in a defamation lawsuit brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accuses the former president of raping her in the 1990s.

Under Donald Trump, the U.S. Justice Department was corrupted in multiple cases, said Maddow. That cant stand as precedent. The U.S. Justice Department is too important. Its credibility is too irreplaceable. That misbehavior during the Trump era at the U.S. Justice Department has to be cleaned up, has to be found out, ferreted out, punished, cleaned up, and come clean to the American people about it.

Or the Justice Department will be used that way again by the next corrupt president who sees what happened under Bill Barr and the former guy as a legacy of corruption you can build on. And trust me, it will happen, she warned.

Maddow acknowledged the job of cleaning up was a terrible one and a really hard one but a necessity for all the obvious reasons.

Im not sure we knew to expect that some of the worst stuff from the Trump era, from the Bill Barr Justice Department, would be continued under the Biden administration, she said. We knew it had to be cleaned up. We hoped that it would be cleaned up. I dont think anybody expected it to be continued.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Watch Maddows full explainer here:

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"MSNBC","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaXkIU1QidjPwiAYu6GcHjg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Rachel Maddow reviews the abuse of the Department of Justice by Bill Barr in sacrificing justice to serve the political needs of Donald Trump, and notes that rather than cleaning the department with accountability for indulging that corruption, Attorney General Merrick Garland is apparently punishing none of it and even continuing some of it, risking a precedent that will surely be embraced by the next corrupt president.\n Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc\n\nAbout The Rachel Maddow Show: Through her unique approach to storytelling, Rachel Maddow provides in-depth reporting to illuminate the current state of political affairs and reveals the importance of transparency and accountability from our leaders. Maddow seeks to explain our complex world and deliver news in a way that's illuminating and dynamic, connecting the dots to make sense of complex issues. Maddow also conducts interviews with individuals at the center of current news stories to provide important perspective.\n\nMSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, Meet the Press Daily, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, Hardball, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and more.\n\nConnect with MSNBC Online\nVisit msnbc.com: http://on.msnbc.com/Readmsnbc\nSubscribe to MSNBC Newsletter: http://MSNBC.com/NewslettersYouTube\nFind MSNBC on Facebook: http://on.msnbc.com/Likemsnbc\nFollow MSNBC on Twitter: http://on.msnbc.com/Followmsnbc\nFollow MSNBC on Instagram: http://on.msnbc.com/Instamsnbc\n\n#MSNBC #Trump #Garland","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":360,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IgQTaCGEW60/hqdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"title":"Trump Corruption of DOJ Lingers Under Garland, Risks Precedent","type":"video","url":"https://action.news/watch?v=IgQTaCGEW60","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"60c068afe4b059c73bd381f5","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/rachel-maddow-merrick-garland-justice-department_n_60c068afe4b059c73bd381f5","entryTagsList":"politics,bill-barr,donald-trump,rachel-maddow,merrick-garland","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"media,us-news,queer-voices,women","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/bac9c443-ba10-47a7-b899-0363397aa705/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"60c068afe4b059c73bd381f5","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/politics","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/politics","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/politics"},"relegenceSubjectId":982065,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Politics News","slug":"politics-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/politics-news"},{"name":"Bill Barr","slug":"bill-barr","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/bill-barr","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/bill-barr","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/bill-barr"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"William Barr","slug":"william-barr","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/william-barr"},{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"relegenceId":2789214,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Rachel Maddow","slug":"rachel-maddow","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/rachel-maddow","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/rachel-maddow","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/rachel-maddow"},"relegenceId":3598181,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Media","slug":"media"},"topic":{"title":"Rachel Maddow","slug":"rachel-maddow","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/rachel-maddow"},{"name":"merrick garland","slug":"merrick-garland","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/merrick-garland","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/merrick-garland","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/merrick-garland"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/merrick-garland"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">