USA TODAY International Edition
Garland calls riot probe top priority
AG nominee gets praise during Senate hearing
In a Senate confirmation hearing remarkable for its civility, attorney general nominee Merrick Garland vowed Monday to fiercely guard the Justice Department from political interference and cast the far- reaching investigation into the deadly
Capitol assault as his
“first priority” as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
Garland, who last served as a Justice Department official in the Clinton administration, was met with little resistance from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, some of whom lauded the federal appeals court judge as “a very good pick” to lead a department roiled by politics during the Trump administration.
“I am not the president’s lawyer,” Garland declared, adding that he would “resign” in the face of any undue pressure exerted by the White House for political advantage.
“My job is to protect the Department of Justice,” Garland said. “That’s my vow.”
At the same time, the former prosecutor offered a stark warning for the politically divisive times, saying that the country faces a “more dangerous period” than when violent domestic forces sparked the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which still stands as the most deadly domestic terror attack in U. S. history.
In his previous Justice Department
tenure, Garland’s work was steeped in the fight against domestic terrorism when he oversaw the Oklahoma City investigation and prosecution of bomber Timothy McVeigh, along with coconspirator Terry Nichols.
At Monday’s hearing, he called the Capitol siege the “most heinous attack on democratic processes I’ve ever seen.”
If confirmed, Garland said his first act as attorney general would be to convene a meeting of prosecutors and investigators involved in the inquiry, which has so far led to more than 230 arrests.
Garland said he would urge investigators to examine “more broadly” the origins of the attack and determine the risk of future assaults.
Questions on Hunter Biden
The nominee’s responses appeared to find favor with key Republican members of the panel, including Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the committee’s former chairman, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
Cornyn said his consideration of Garland’s nomination rested on a promise that the judge would not tolerate political interference. And the nominee quickly made that pledge.
“I would not have taken this job if politics had any influence over prosecutions,” Garland said.
Grassley, meanwhile, was openly effusive.
“Judge Garland is a good pick to lead the Department of Justice,” the Iowa senator said. “I don’t think anyone doubts his credentials. ... He has decades of experience as one of the most respected appellate judges in the country.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R- Texas, referred to Garland’s “reputation for integrity and setting aside partisan interests,” urging him to bring those qualities to the job if he is confirmed.
Asked at one point about the federal tax inquiry involving President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden, Garland said he had not discussed the case with the president.
“I have not,” Garland said. “The president made abundantly clear in every public statement before and after my nomination that decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department.”
Hunter Biden announced in December that the U. S. attorney in Delaware was investigating his taxes. Republicans also have questioned his business dealings in Ukraine and China. The president has expressed unflinching public support for his son.
Capital punishment, social justice
The Hunter Biden investigation was one of several expected flashpoints in a hearing that never boiled over. When Sen. Josh Hawley, R- Mo., warned against the possible pursuit of political opponents, including President Donald Trump or others in the previous administration, Garland said there would be no tolerance for raw political targeting.
“I have grown pretty immune to any kind of pressure,” Garland said.
Nevertheless, the hearing touched a wide range of equally difficult issues facing the Biden Justice Department, including the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions.
Biden is an opponent of capital punishment, and Garland said he expected that a moratorium on executions maintained during the Obama administration would likely be reinstated.
Garland said he harbored “great” concern about the application of the death penalty by the federal government. Thirteen federal inmates were executed in the last months of Trump’s administration.
Garland said exonerations of the wrongly convicted have given him “pause.”
“A most terrible thing happens when someone is executed for a crime that they did not commit,” Garland said.
Before executions were resumed by the Trump administration, the federal government had paused capital punishment for 17 years.
Acknowledging last summer’s social justice protests nationwide, 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.”
Break from partisan politics?
Much of Monday’s hearing, however, focused on how the nominee would define the Justice Department’s relationship with the White House after four years of an administration and a president who sought favored treatment for himself and allies, often with wellaimed missives from a once- active Twitter account.
Biden, who repeatedly railed against the politicization of the department on the campaign trail, has described his selection of Garland as an attempt to turn the page at the department.
“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 said he would reaffirm a host of standards, including those that “strictly regulate communications with the White House.”
The warm greeting from Senate Republicans on Monday offered the most important boost for the nominee, who also has garnered the bipartisan support of four former attorneys general, including two Republicans.
Sen. Cory Booker, D- N. J., offered similar praise for the nominee, prompting Garland to briefly seize with emotion.
Garland’s voice cracked when recounting his Jewish family’s flight from persecution, drawing on that experience as driving his call to public service.
“I feel an obligation to pay back to the country that took us in,” Garland said.
The sentiment caused the hearing room to fall silent as senators, aides and reporters directed their attention to Garland’s chair.