NEW: Several cases and investigations leftover from the Trump era have tested the Biden administration as it seeks to restore the DOJ's independence and keep it out of the political crucible. by @cryanbarber & @sonam_sheth ($) @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/trump-biden-ju…
The headaches have come from recent developments in long-running court fights, the wave of prosecutions stemming from the January 6th riot at the US Capitol, and a steady trickle of new revelations about the Trump era.
"What's happening to them is they keep bumping into this tension between all these really questionable decisions made in the Trump administration & the institutional prerogative of protecting the Justice Department going forward." - Neil Eggleston, ex-Obama White House counsel.
"That's what's causing the tension they're dealing with over and over again," Eggleston added.
More tension surfaced when the Washington Post, CNN, & The New York Times were informed that the Trump DOJ obtained reporters' phone records as part of leak investigations.
More tension surfaced when the Washington Post, CNN, & The New York Times were informed that the Trump DOJ obtained reporters' phone records as part of leak investigations.
DOJ in May also landed in the unusual position of trying to shield one of the most significant legal episodes of Trump's presidency from becoming public.
The Justice Department appealed a federal judge's ruling to release, in its entirety, a legal memo that then-Attorney General William Barr cited in justifying his decision not to charge Trump with obstructing justice after the Mueller investigation.
DOJ is also testing the bounds of its independence by pressing forward Monday with a bid to defend Trump against a defamation lawsuit by a woman who accused him of rape.
There is no shortage of additional tests going forward as DOJ oversees a slew of politically sensitive investigations into everyone from Hunter Biden, the president's adult son, to prominent Trump allies like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who spent 12 years at the Justice Department, pointed to the spectrum of cases and said they show AG Merrick Garland is "following the facts."
"We see him pursuing almost a third rail, if you're a Democrat, with respect to the Democratic firm and Burisma," Cramer said.
"He's not investigating Hunter Biden, per se, but he is investigating a Democratic lobbying firm that worked with a Ukrainian company that everyone who follows politics has heard about in the last year," Cramer added.
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