Merrick Garland exits with his record under scrutiny and the Justice Department bracing for upheaval

WASHINGTON (AP) — During hearings on Merrick Garland's nomination to be President Joe Biden's attorney general, the longtime federal appeals court judge told senators in 2021 that he hoped to “turn down the volume” on public discourse about the Justice Department and return to the days when the agency was not the “center of partisan disagreement.”

It didn’t go as planned.

Garland came in with a mission to calm the waters and restore the department's reputation for independence after four turbulent years under Republican President Donald Trump, who fired one attorney general and feuded with another. Now, the soft-spoken Garland, who was denied a seat on the Supreme Court by the Republican-led Senate, is leaving this month with the department under siege and his own legacy in question.

Those on the right are incensed over the department’s effort to hold Trump criminally responsible for his failed effort to overturn his 2020 election loss and have accused prosecutors of going too easy on Biden's son Hunter. Democrats have claimed Garland failed to pursue Trump aggressively enough immediately after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and have criticized the Garland-appointed special counsel, who, they thought, took gratuitous swipes at Biden.

Some senior Biden aides have said privately that Garland was the wrong choice for the job and they believe he bent too far trying to show impartiality.

Garland's defenders say that despite the political pressures, he stood firm in his commitment to independence and fairness.

“The story that has been told by some outside of this building about what has happened inside of it is wrong,” Garland told employees Thursday during an emotional farewell address inside the Justice Department’s Great Hall. “You have worked to pursue justice — not politics. That is the truth and nothing can change it.”

Garland was the chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, when he was nominated by President Barack Obama for the high court in March 2016.

A Justice Department lawyer who worked under five attorneys general, Garland had burnished his reputation as a hard-charging prosecutor supervising the case against Timothy McVeigh for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. Garland has called his work on the investigation “the most important thing” he has ever done.

On civil rights matters, the Justice Department under Garland undertook a dozen investigations into law enforcement agencies, uncovering widespread misconduct — work that had been curtailed under Trump's first term. The department was also aggressive in its antitrust enforcement, bringing cases against Google, Apple and others.

But the confluence of investigations on his desk at once presented arguably the biggest test in the Justice Department’s 150-year history.

The department, at one point, was investigating Joe Biden for his handling of classified documents, Hunter Biden for tax and gun offenses, and Trump — the president's chief political rival. To do this, Garland appointed special counsels in an effort to remove any whiff of political bias.

Yet no event shaped Garland’s tenure more than the Capitol riot, which unfolded on live TV on the same day news broke that Biden had picked Garland for the job.

By the time Garland assumed the job in March 2021, the Justice Department had begun charging rioters, building what would become its largest-ever investigation.

Long before Jack Smith was appointed as special counsel for the Trump investigations, the department in 2021 launched an investigative unit looking at Trump allies who were at Washington's Willard Hotel around Jan. 6, 2021. Investigators searched for financial ties between Trump allies and the rioters — believing that would allow them to bring a more straightforward case. But that hit a dead end.

The Supreme Court tied up Smith's case for months before granting former presidents broad immunity from prosecution and sending the case back to the trial court. It likely would have gone back to the high court at least once before it could reach trial, making a trial before November's election unlikely.

Inside the White House, frustration mounted over Garland. Biden felt hemmed in by his choice, particularly as the Justice Department investigated both him and Hunter.

White House officials were particularly dismayed at special counsel Robert Hur's report on his investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents. That report portrayed the president as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory," and White House officials said it was inappropriate to include such “prejudicial” language in a report explaining why no criminal charges were warranted.

The report was released just as Biden's age (he turned 82 in November) and mental acuity were becoming major political liabilities that would eventually, following his disastrous debate performance in June, sink his reelection effort.

By releasing the entire unedited document, Garland reflected his determination not only to avoid the appearance of protecting the president but also to turn the page from his predecessor. William Barr was castigated by the left after he issued his own four-page summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference that was seen as glossing over some of the document’s more damning assessments.

Garland is about to see years of work dismantled.

The cases against Trump have unraveled. The Justice Department has decided to withhold from the public for now the section of Smith's final report on Trump's classified documents case because an appeal involving Trump's co-defendants is pending. It's possible that it will never be released by Trump's Justice Department.

The future of the Jan. 6 investigation, which has resulted in more than 1,200 convictions against rioters, is in peril. Trump has said he plans to pardon many of them.

Biden, too, pardoned his son after Hunter's trial conviction and guilty plea.

In his final speech to the workforce, Garland made no overt mention of Trump or the president-elect’s suggestions that he might use the agency’s powers to pursue his foes. But Garland warned that “the same powers that enable the federal prosecutor to pursue justice also create the potential for grave injustice.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks as FBI Director Christopher Wray listens during a farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Attorney General Merrick Garland reacts during a farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Attorney General Merrick Garland sits during a farewell ceremony at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Knowing New York had waited 53 years to see the Knicks hoist the NBA championship trophy, owner James Dolan didn't even wait to be handed the 30-pound gold-plated prize.

He grabbed it and lifted it skyward with a yell.

“I want to say something to New York,” Dolan shouted. “Hey New York! I'm sorry it took so long! But here we are, and hopefully it won't take that long again!”

The New York Knicks are champions of the NBA for the first time since 1973, beating the San Antonio Spurs in five games for this title. The clincher came Saturday night in a 94-90 victory, the Knicks' fourth comeback win of the series.

Some will say it’s the first “major” professional sports championship for New York in more than 14 years; that would be true when counting only Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and the NBA, though it would be wrong to ignore the New York Liberty’s run to the 2024 WNBA title and New York City FC winning the MLS Cup in 2021.

But as far as the teams that have been part of the city’s fabric for generations and generations, yes, this 14-year drought is finally over. The New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2012, capping the 2011 season.

The Yankees — the most decorated team in U.S. major pro sports history — haven’t won a World Series since 2009. The Mets haven’t brought a World Series title to New York since 1986. The Rangers last hoisted that trophy in 1994, the Islanders in 1983. The New York Jets haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1969.

None of that matters, at least not right now. The Knicks — who won 13 consecutive games at one point in this playoff run and rallied from 29 points down to win Game 4 of the finals at MSG — are the toast of the town.

“Of course I've never seen anything like it, because it'd never happened before,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said of the Game 4 comeback in an interview on NBA TV on Saturday. “But it's been amazing."

The Amazin' Knicks, indeed.

It took them 80 years — the Knicks won the first game in NBA history in 1946, three years before what was then the Basketball Association of America started being known as the National Basketball Association — but the franchise has now become the ninth that can say it has at least three championships.

Boston has 18, the Los Angeles Lakers have 17, Golden State has seven, Chicago has six, San Antonio has five, and Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami all have three.

Welcome to the club, New York.

“I enjoy watching these guys," Knicks legend Larry Johnson said. "The Garden is back. ... It’s back like when we played and made our little run. The city is behind us.”

It's a franchise that has gone through 24 different coaches and more than 400 players since what was, until now, the most recent championship season. Some of the game’s biggest superstars called Madison Square Garden home and couldn’t end the title drought, names like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks lost a Game 7 in the 1994 finals to Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston, then made a miracle run to the 1999 finals in a shortened season only to lose to San Antonio in five games — the first of what became five championships for Gregg Popovich and the Spurs.

“We didn’t get it done. ... I always say the third time is the charm,” former Knicks guard John Starks said.

Starks was right. It took the Knicks 27 years to get back to the finals, had the Spurs again standing in their way, and to fully flip the script, it was New York prevailing in five games.

And finally, the world's most famous arena — which has raised banners for Billy Joel, Elton John and Harry Styles more recently than it had hoisted one for the Knicks — will be adding to the collection swaying from the rafters. If it follows form from the others, the banner will only have the Knicks logo, then 2025-26 World Champions beneath that.

A simple message. Getting to the place where the Knicks could say those words again, that wasn't so simple.

“There are a couple of franchises that are pretty iconic just because of the history that they have, the location that they’re in, sometimes even the building that they’re in,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown, who won this title in his first season with the club. "New York is definitely one of the few that you could say that to in all three facets.

“Everybody goes through their ups and downs. I don’t really think much about the tough times that they had, because everybody has tough times, including individuals. You just want to try the best you can to be a part of whatever you can to bring joy to the city, to the organization. At the end of the day, the chips are going to fall how they fall. I feel blessed, fortunate, lucky, to be a part of what is going on now.”

It is, to put it mildly, an interesting organization. Dolan — who rarely speaks publicly — isn't afraid of clashes, even including ones with former Knicks greats like Charles Oakley, who was at road games in this title run but has remained away from MSG for years. Leon Rose, the team's president, typically doesn't make himself available to reporters either. There is an absolute mystique around the team and how it operates.

It has not always worked. Over a 25-year stretch that ended with the 2021-22 season — not that long ago — the Knicks had the worst record in the NBA. In the four years since, starting with the acquisition of Jalen Brunson from Dallas, the Knicks have the NBA's fifth-best record.

And now, Brunson — the finals MVP — is the best player on the best team in the world.

“It means the world to me,” Brunson said.

And this year, as Frank Sinatra said, the Knicks are king of the hill, top of the heap. Some in the fan base grumbled when the Knicks declined to hang an NBA Cup championship banner after beating San Antonio for the in-season tournament title earlier this season. Turns out, the Knicks were just waiting for something better.

So, the 53-year wait is over. It was a very different league, and a very different game, in 1973.

There were 17 teams in the NBA that season, barely half of the 30 that there are now. Teams called places Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City-Omaha and Seattle home then; the league has expanded many times since, adding 13 teams in nine different states, plus Canada and the District of Columbia.

The top salary in the league then was about $380,000, or roughly $2.9 million in today’s dollars. There was no 3-point line then, no multi-billion-dollar television deal, no international players.

The Knicks flew home on a United Airlines flight from the 1973 title clincher in Inglewood, California, and officials at Kennedy Airport expected what was then called a “rabid” crowd of fans present to greet the plane. They braced for “hundreds” of people that day.

This celebration might be a little bigger.

“To have the fans that we have in New York City and be able to bring home a championship after all these years is absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “It’s a surreal feeling.”

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The New York Knicks celebrate after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, hugs forward Og Anunoby during the after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

The New York Knicks celebrate after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The New York Knicks celebrate after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

New York Knicks fans celebrate after winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)