Garland: Attorney general nominee vows he’ll promote equal justice and fight white supremacists.
AG nominee also to work on justice for minorities
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland on Monday called for a restoration of Justice Department “norms” to guard against the influence of partisan politics that have threatened the agency’s independence from the White House.
Garland, testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, also vowed to pursue equal justice for marginalized communities of color while leading a battle against extremism that broke into the open during last month’s deadly Capitol attack.
“The president nominates the attorney general to be the lawyer – not for any individual but for the people of the United States,” Garland told the panel. “It is a fitting time to reaffirm that the role of the attorney general is to serve the rule of law and to ensure equal justice under the law.”
Garland, a former top Justice official who last served during the Clinton administration, said he would reaffirm a host of standards including those that “strictly regulate communications with the White House.”
President Joe Biden has described his selection of Garland, now a federal appeals court judge, as an attempt to turn the page at a department roiled by politics and efforts by former President Donald Trump to use the institution to advance his political interests.
Acknowledging last summer’s widethe spread social justice protests, Garland highlighted the mission of the department’s Civil Rights Division to protect the rights of the “most vulnerable members of our society.”
“That mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice,” Garland said. “Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and the criminal justice system and bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution and climate change.”
Regarding extremism, “I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 – a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government,” judge said.
Garland’s nomination is not believed to be seriously threatened.
Last week, four former attorneys general, including two Republicans, were among bipartisan groups of Justice Department alums and former federal judges who announced their support for the nominee.
Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorneys general in the George W. Bush administration, were among more than 150 former Justice officials and U.S. attorneys who lauded Garland as “the right person” for a difficult job following the tumult of the Trump administration.
A separate endorsement was submitted on behalf of 61 former federal judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents.