Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s candidate for attorney general, will present his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. In his opening statement, Garland says he will make civil rights, facing “extremist attacks” and defending the independence of the Justice Department some of his top priorities.
“If they confirm me, acting as Attorney General will be the culmination of a career I have dedicated to ensuring that the laws of our country are enforced fairly and faithfully and that the rights of all Americans are protected.” Garland will say, according to prepared comments that were released Saturday.
After demonstrations to protest the deaths of African Americans at the hands of police and systemic racial injustice that ravaged the entire country last year, Garland will make clear the role the department plays in resolving civil rights issues, and will acknowledge “that we do not yet have the same justice.”
“Colored communities and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and the criminal justice system; and bear the brunt of the damage caused by the pandemic, pollution and climate change,” he says. Garland’s statement.
Monday’s hearing comes five years after Republicans in the Senate blocked Garland’s Supreme Court nomination without even granting him a confirmation hearing. Garland was appointed by former President Barack Obama to fill the seat previously held by Judge Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.
As head of law enforcement for the nation, Garland will inherit ongoing investigations into riot police who participated in the Capitol uprising on January 6th. News of Mr. Biden’s intention to appoint Garland broke on the same day of the deadly assault on the United States Capitol. .
Garland is no stranger to extremist violence. He is known for his previous work in the Justice Department, where he oversaw the trial of Oklahoma City terrorist Timothy McVeigh and lone wolf bomber Ted Kaczynski, widely known as the “Unabomber.”
“150 years after the department’s founding, the fight against extremist attacks on our democratic institutions also remains central to its mission,” Garland’s statements say. “If confirmed, I will oversee the persecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6: a heinous attack that sought to break a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.” .
At a ceremony the day after the Capitol Revolt to announce the nomination, Mr. Biden addressed Garland and other candidates for senior Justice Department positions, saying, “You will not work for me. You are not the president. nor the vice president’s lawyer.
“Your loyalty is not to me. It is to the law, to the Constitution, to the people of this nation to ensure justice,” Biden added.
Garland will also oversee several ongoing politically sensitive investigations, such as the one studying the “tax matters” of Mr. Biden’s son Hunter Biden, as well as Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the 2016 Russian investigation. .
However, in his prepared statements, Garland makes it clear that, as attorney general, his job will be to defend the “rule of law” and do so “reaffirming … the rules.”
Garland will stress the importance of existing policies that “protect the department’s independence from partisan influence in law enforcement investigations” and “strictly regulate communications with the White House.”
Several Senate Judiciary Republicans said Wednesday they would pressure Garland during his confirmation hearing to pledge to investigate the deaths of COVID-19 nursing homes, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s controversial report on total residential deaths of the elderly in their state.
Garland’s hearing is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and the committee will vote on whether to advance his candidacy for the Senate floor on March 1.
Letters of support for his candidacy from a bipartisan group of officials were presented to the committee on Friday. The group included 61 former federal judges, in addition to 150 former U.S. attorneys and senior Justice Department officials, including former Attorneys General Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch and Michael Mukasey.
“Judge Garland has devoted much of his life to the American judicial system,” the letter said. “And we can state unequivocally that Judge Garland is the right person to ensure that the rule of law remains, in our national consciousness, one of our most deeply held values.”
Garland was appointed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1997 by former President Bill Clinton and served as chief justice for seven years. Prior to becoming a judge, he served in the Justice Department as an adjunct U.S. attorney general in Washington, DC, deputy deputy director general of the criminal division, and as deputy chief attorney general. He graduated from Harvard College summa cum laude in 1974 and Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 1977.