The lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family says investigators with the Department of Justice have been "very, very professional [and] very responsive."
"This is a case that you can easily get lost into the politics of it all, because you know the president is weighing in [and] the DNC is weighing in," Merritt told host Joel Pollak on Sunday during a radio appearance on Sirius XM's "Breitbart News."
"It's easy to focus on that and not the details, but the federal agents in the DOJ and the U.S. attorneys that I've been speaking with are all about the facts and the law, and because of that, I think they're very motivated to get some additional charges and prosecutions in this case."
Merritt on Monday said the DOJ had launched a criminal investigation into the shooting death of Arbery as a hate crime and were also probing the actions of two district attorneys who recused themselves from the case.
Arbery was shot to death Feb. 23. More than two months went by before suspected killers Travis McMicheal and Gregory McMicheal, his father, were arrested. Since his death, videos and 911 calls released show the confrontation that ended Arbery's life.
Merritt praised President Donald Trump for speaking about the case.
"I was grateful that the president spoke on the case at all," Merritt said. "President Trump understands that when he says things, people react both locally and nationally, particularly because he's the president of the United States. Of course, if he's mentioning the case, it's something that gives him trouble, [and] you would expect for the Department of Justice to give it additional attention."
Merritt continued, "I was concerned that [Donald Trump] kind of waffled in his initial evaluation of the case, saying, 'Well, you know, you don't know what went on off the camera,' and of course you don't — that's a conversation that we all can have — but I would have preferred for him to lead with the facts, the law, what we do know, and of course, his sympathy for the family."
"Beyond sympathy, I prefer action, and his Department of Justice as has been very active in this case," Merritt said.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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