Newly-confirmed Attorney General Merrick Garland didn’t use Trump’s name. He didn’t need to.

In a virtual address (watch above) to the more than 115,000 DOJ employees he now commands, Garland offered an implicit critique of the Trump Administration. “The only way we can succeed and retain the trust of the American people, is to adhere to the norms that have become part of the DNA of every Justice Department employee,” he said.

Garland emphasized equal justice, adding:

“Those norms require that like cases be treated alike — that there not be one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans, one rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor, or different rules depending upon one’s race or ethnicity.“

ABC News provides more details on Garland’s speech:

Garland kept his remarks brief, with no mention of specific issues or cases that his department will oversee during his tenure like the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol or the domestic terrorism crisis facing the country — but told employees they are “united by our commitment to protecting our country, as our oath says, from all enemies, foreign and domestic.“

The former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit – who began his career as a special assistant to Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti during the Carter administration – said in his nomination hearing last month that he would “fend off any effort by anyone” to exert political influence on the Justice Department’s investigations.

Garland was confirmed in a 70-30 vote on Wednesday. He is expected to be ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday evening.

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