The Atlantic The Man Who Should Be Merrick Garland’s Role Model The new attorney general has inherited a department plagued by scandal, just as Edward Levi did in 1975. May 9, 2021 Wikipedia / The Atlantic President Joe Biden is facing problems Gerald Ford would have appreciated. Like Ford in 1974, Biden has come into office following a president accused of criminality. Both Biden and Ford inherited a Department of Justice plagued by scandal and well-grounded charges of politicization. Both had to choose a nominee for attorney general knowing that recent occupants of that office contributed to partisanship and displayed a lack of integrity. And both took office while questions lingered about recent leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a component of the DOJ.