“If confirmed, I will oversee the prosecution of white supremacists and others who invaded 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,” said Garland on declaration.
The appointed attorney general plans to emphasize that the function is designed to “serve the rule of law and ensure equal justice under the law”, noting that July 2020 marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Justice after the Civil War and that its main mission was to guarantee the civil rights promised by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
“The mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice,” said Garland. “Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and in the criminal justice system.”
Unless any surprise at his hearing, he is on the verge of becoming Biden’s first attorney general, bringing a long-standing lawyer with a steady hand to a department that fluctuates between crises. Garland served in the Department of Justice as a US assistant attorney in Washington, DC and, if confirmed by the Senate, will fail to serve a 24-year term.
He will also explain why he is leaving a lifelong position as a federal judge.
“… (M) did any of you ask why I would agree to leave a lifetime appointment as a judge,” Garland said in the statement. “I told you that I love being a judge. I also said that this is an important time for me to step forward because of my deep respect for the Department of Justice and its fundamental role in ensuring the rule of law.”
While a confluence of factors drove Biden’s choice of Garland last month, people familiar with the matter say it was largely based on Biden’s belief that Garland can overcome politics in the post-Trump era.
“You are not going to work for me,” said Biden in announcing Garland’s nomination. “You are not the attorney for the president or the vice president. Your loyalty is not to me. It is with the law, the constitution.”
For Garland’s defenders, it was his reputation for justice, enhanced by more than two decades in the federal appeals court in Washington, DC, that made him a good candidate to lead the department outside the Trump era. Your success in rebuilding public confidence in the department, however, may depend to a large extent on your political ability.
Former President Barack Obama appointed Garland to the Supreme Court after a vacancy was created with the death of Judge Antonin Scalia in 2016, but his nomination was rejected by Senate Republicans, who held a majority in the House at the time.
When former President Donald Trump took office, Garland’s appointment expired and he returned to the position of chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. He stepped down as chief judge in February 2020, but still serves in court. Former President Bill Clinton appointed him to court in 1997.
From the extensive investigation into the January uprising to the delicate investigations of presidential allies, the number of cases in the Department of Justice is more controversial than ever, and Garland will face a workforce whose rejection of his former boss’s political maneuvers was unprecedented.
More than 200 former federal judges, US prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials signed letters of support to Garland, urging the Senate to confirm “as soon as possible”.
Republicans, on the other hand, have already signaled that they will try to lure the judge into his confirmation hearing on controversial federal investigations into New York’s Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo and the president’s son, Hunter Biden, creating the first opportunity for Garland reveal how he will handle his plate full of political problems.
Prior to his appointment as a US circuit judge, Garland served as the principal deputy attorney general. He oversaw the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which killed more than 160 people and injured several hundred. Garland also led investigations into the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, in which two people died and more than 100 were injured.
In addition, the judge served as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Columbia from 1989 to 1992, and as an assistant assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s criminal division from 1993 to 1994.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc, David Shortell, Katelyn Polantz, Joan Biskupic and Christina Carrega contributed to this report.