Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ripped into what he said is the politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that has occurred under President Donald Trump.
During a campaign event in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Biden was asked how he “reimagine” the DOJ and its Civil Rights Division.
“This has been the most corrupt administration in modern American history. The Justice Department has turned into the president’s private law firm,” Biden responded.
“It’s become the Department of Trump, and that’s wrong,” he added.
He continued to say he would give the Civil Rights Division “more direct authority inside the Justice Department.”
Additionally, he said he would appoint an attorney general who “understood his oath of office … that in fact could do and move on what the professionals in the department thought had to be pursued, without my interfering.”
Watch the video below:
Joe Biden: "This Justice Department has turned into the president's private law firm." pic.twitter.com/FMaNZSDu5J
— The Hill (@thehill) September 23, 2020
Biden also noted that he receives a lot of questions about whether or not he would pursue a prosecution of Trump if he wins in November. He said, “I’m not going to prosecute anybody. I’m going to do what the Justice Department says should be done.”
The former vice president has previously said a prosecution of Trump would “probably not very … good for democracy,” however he would not intervene to stop it, as IJR reported.
“I will not interfere with the Justice Department’s judgment of whether or not they think they should pursue the prosecution of anyone that they think has violated the law,” Biden said.
He added, “If [a case] prove[s] to be a criminal offense, then, in fact, that would be up to the attorney general to decide whether he or she wanted to proceed with it. I am not going to make that individual judgment.”
Democrats have repeatedly raised concerns that the DOJ has been politicized under Trump as the point to the department’s handling of the cases of Roger Stone and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.
However, Attorney General William Barr has argued that has been upholding the rule of law during his tenure.
