Merrick Garland ‘Rose to the Occasion’

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• A Student’s Plea on Abortion Rights
• Help Wanted

To the Editor:

Re “Garland Pushing to Show Warrant for Trump Search” (front page, Aug. 12):

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland rose to the occasion, leveling with the American people about the reasons the Justice Department took the unprecedented step of searching a former president’s home. Although Mr. Garland’s language was at times opaque, his style was in keeping with his strong — and refreshingly nonpartisan — perspective that the department should place the rule of law above partisan politics.

Significantly, he ardently defended the F.B.I., whose public approval has declined dramatically in the wake of the former president’s unpatriotic attacks.

Mr. Garland laid out a road map. The investigation will continue and the rule of law will persevere. American democracy is messy and imperfect and the wheels of justice are slow, but after Mr. Garland’s public explanations, its arc most assuredly moves closer to justice.

Richard M. Perloff
Cleveland
The writer is a professor of communication and political science at Cleveland State University.

To the Editor:

Like many other Americans, I’m curious to know more about the Justice Department’s investigation of Donald Trump, and I understand why Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced that he personally approved a search warrant and that the department has now requested its unsealing. He struck just the right tone, especially in his defense of his department and the F.B.I.

That said, I think Mr. Garland has been right to keep silent about the details of his investigation, and I’m glad he emphasized that the department will continue to work “out of the public eye.”

In due time, I suspect, we’ll know a lot more about this probe. For now, let’s be patient and let the Justice Department do its job. The list of reasons for it to avoid extensive public comment at this stage is longer than the list of reasons for it to do the opposite.

Jeff Burger
Ridgewood, N.J.

To the Editor:

A whip-smart, soft-spoken and gentle man who passionately and fearlessly believes in the rule of law and bends over backward to be fair may finally be the undoing of Donald J. Trump.

In authorizing a search of Mr. Trump’s home and release of the search details for any illegally withheld highly classified documents that may involve nuclear weapons and our national security, Merrick Garland has shown himself to be a fearless leader of our Justice Department who protects his department from smears and, more important, protects us all from a dangerous ex-president.

Arthur Pitchenik
Miami

To the Editor:

I wonder if anyone has considered the possibility that former President Donald Trump expected that the White House documents he stored at Mar-a-Lago would eventually be seized by the government and their contents likely revealed to the public.

Why else would he keep them? He reportedly flushed down the toilet or otherwise destroyed some official papers, presumably containing incriminating information. Those that exonerate or make him look good, of course, he kept.

Those looking for a “smoking gun” should prepare to be disappointed.

John E. Stafford
Rye, N.Y.

A Student’s Plea on Abortion Rights

To the Editor:

Re “Stung by Kansas Vote, Republicans Shift Tone on Full Abortion Bans” (news article, Aug. 6):

My mother, who was born in 1976, went to college in Missouri, where abortion is now illegal in nearly all cases. I, her only daughter, plan to go to college in 2025. After the Dobbs decision, I am forced to consider abortion restrictions when choosing where to attend college.

Until recently a constitutional right in the United States, abortion now depends on geography. About half the states will likely have extreme limits or total bans on abortion. Although this statistic is devastating, there is hope for the future.

Recently, Kansas voted against removing abortion rights from the state Constitution. Wins are occurring in parts of the country, but we must keep fighting. Anti-choice Republicans are pushing back and trying to strip women of their rights.

We need to restore the constitutional right to an abortion in every state. We have the power to take back our rights. I urge you to join me in calling state representatives and encouraging them to protect and expand abortion access in your state!

Lila Paul
New York
The writer is a high school student.

Help Wanted

To the Editor:

As Kyla Scanlon clearly points out in “The Vibes in the Economy Are Weird” (Opinion guest essay, Aug. 5), we’re in “a period of declining expectations.” We are also in a period of exceptional employment opportunities, underscoring the fact that the economy is truly weird.

A great many employers have job openings that they are finding very difficult to fill. As a result, many of them are willing to hire people with less experience, weaker qualifications and more problematic backgrounds than they would offer jobs to in normal times.

So this weird economy is providing unprecedented opportunities in the labor market for the unemployed and the underemployed.

John Casson
Brooklyn