Thread by @dsamuelsohn

NEW: Merrick Garland's past as a career federal prosecutor in DC is coming full circle with the Capitol riot cases by @cryanbarber ($) in @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/attorney-gener…

Shortly after being sworn in as attorney general, Merrick Garland stepped to a podium in the Great Hall of the Justice Department to address via live stream the more than 100,000 employees now working under him.

"I have to tell you that when I walked in the door of Main Justice this morning," he said, referring to the department's headquarters, "it really did feel like I was coming home."

By day's end, Garland would venture deeper into his Justice Department roots with a visit to the nearby US attorney's office in Washington, where he tried drug trafficking, public corruption and fraud cases as a line prosecutor in the early 1990s.

Three decades later, that same office is figuring prominently in his tenure as attorney general as it spearheads the more than 300 prosecutions stemming from the violent rioting at the US Capitol on January 6.

Garland said at his Senate confirmation hearing last month that he would prioritize the Capitol cases. His first day as attorney general featured briefings on the expansive investigation.

On his visit to the US attorney's office, he addressed the staff in a videoconference & praised prosecutors for their efforts in the 2 months since a pro-Trump mob sought to prevent Congress from certifying Biden's electoral victory, per 2 people familiar with Garland's remarks.

And Garland demonstrated his familiarity with their office by reminiscing on its collegial atmosphere and a cafeteria where staff used to meet over lunch and mingle. Many listened in bemused silence, unaware of the long-since-removed cafeteria's past existence.

Subscribe to @thisisinsider for the full report from @cryanbarber on Merrick Garland's early days at DOJ and the many connections between Main Justice and the US Attorney's office in DC: businessinsider.com/attorney-gener…