Liberals may end up liking much of Garland's Justice Department after all

Attorney General Merrick Garland's effort to restore public trust in the Justice Department quietly may be turning into one progressive Democrats like, after months of handwringing among some critics on the left that he would block accountability for Trump-era abuses.

In a court filing Tuesday, the Justice Department rejected pro-Trump Republican Rep. Mo Brooks's request to be shielded from a lawsuit related to his incendiary comments before the January 6 Capitol attack. The decision, which Justice officials said Garland was deeply involved in finalizing, followed a move Monday to waive executive privilege for former Trump Justice officials and pave the way for them to testify about events that led to the insurrection. Two memos issued Wednesday showed a more muscular effort on civil rights law enforcement, an issue Garland said was a priority upon taking office. The memos were a signal to states that the department was closely watching efforts to curtail voting access and to use post-election "audits" to intimidate voters.