(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Investigative journalist Jason Leopold has uncovered the alias former Attorney General Merrick Garland used while running the Justice Department under the Biden administration: “Abraham Rose.”
Leopold, who frequently unearths government documents via the Freedom of Information Act, said he first learned that Attorneys General use code names about a decade ago, beginning with Barack Obama’s Eric Holder.
Interesting stuff. I wonder why Merrick Garland chose the code-name "Abraham Rose." Thoughts? https://t.co/tvYZ8TUYyM pic.twitter.com/lwmTKxjvTz
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) March 7, 2025
The DOJ told Leopold that AGs use an email alias for conducting official government business “to guard against security risks”—though the practice could arguably be used to hide nefarious behavior.
According to Leopold, Holder used the codename “Lew Alcindor,” which is the birthname of NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Another Obama AG, Loretta Lynch, used “Elizabeth Carlisle.” “Lynch’s middle name is Elizabeth, but I could never figure out what Carlisle represented,” Leopold noted in a Friday article on the matter.
Trump-era Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for his part, used the alias Camden Hybart. Leopold said that Sessions went to high school in Camden, Alabama and he grew up in Hybart.
Meanwhile, former AG William Barr used the alias “Bill Ahern”—Ahern being the maiden name of his mother.
That brings us to Garland.
“Last week, the Justice Department sent me a letter that said Garland’s email alias was ‘Abraham Rose.’ I’m stumped. Is the name related to the apricot-colored English rose? Was it linked to a Bible passage in the Book of Genesis?” Leopold asked. “I wasn’t able to reach Garland. If you have any insight, please reach out!”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
