Judge Merrick Garland, appointed by President Joe Biden as attorney general, will sit before the Senate Judiciary Committee for its confirmation hearing on Monday. In his opening statement, Garland said he would make civil rights, facing “extremist attacks” and defending the independence of the Justice Department some of his top priorities.
“If I am confirmed, serving as attorney general will be the culmination of a career that I have dedicated myself to ensuring that our country’s laws are applied fairly and faithfully and that the rights of all Americans are protected,” said Garland, second for prepared comments that were released on Saturday.
After protests against the deaths of African Americans at the hands of the police and the systemic racial injustice that swept the country last year, Garland will make clear the role the department plays in addressing civil rights issues, recognizing that “we still do not have equal justice “.
“Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and in the criminal justice system; and bear the brunt of the damage caused by the pandemic, pollution and climate change, ”says Garland’s statement.
Monday’s hearing comes five years after Senate Republicans blocked Garland’s appointment to the Supreme Court, even without granting him a confirmation hearing. Garland was appointed by former President Barack Obama to fill the chair previously occupied by the late Judge Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.
As the country’s top police officer, Garland will inherit the ongoing investigations into the demonstrators who participated in the Capitol insurrection on January 6. News of Biden’s intention to name Garland was released on the same day of the deadly attack on the United States Capitol.
Garland is well aware of extremist violence. He is known for his previous work at the Department of Justice, where he oversaw the prosecution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and suicide bomber Ted Kaczynski, widely known as the “Unabomber”.
“150 years after the department was founded, fighting extremist attacks on our democratic institutions also remains at the heart of its mission,” say Garland’s comments. “If confirmed, I will oversee the case against 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.”
At an event held the day after the Capitol riot to announce the nomination, Biden addressed Garland and others nominated for top Justice Department positions, saying, “You will not work for me. You are not the president or the vice president’s lawyer.
“Your loyalty is not to me. It is to the law, the Constitution, the people of this nation to guarantee justice,” added Biden.
Garland will also oversee a number of ongoing politically sensitive investigations, such as one examining the “tax affairs” of Biden’s son Hunter Biden, as well as Special Adviser John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the 2016 investigation in Russia.
However, in his prepared comments, Garland makes it clear that, as attorney general, his job will be to uphold the “rule of law” and to do so “reaffirming … the rules”.
Garland will highlight the importance of existing policies that “protect the department’s independence from party influence in law enforcement investigations” and “strictly regulate communications with the White House”.
Several Senate Judiciary Republicans said on Wednesday that they would pressure Garland during his confirmation hearing to commit to investigating deaths in COVID-19 nursing homes, including the controversial New York Governor Andrew Cuomo report on the total deaths in nursing homes in your state.
Garland’s hearing is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and the committee will vote if it advances its nomination to the Senate floor on March 1.
On Friday, letters in support of his appointment were sent to the committee by a bipartisan group of officials. The group included 61 former federal judges, as well as more than 150 former US attorneys and senior DOJ officials, including former Attorney General Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch and Michael Mukasey.
“Judge Garland has devoted much of his life to the American justice system,” said the letter. “And we can state unequivocally that Judge Garland is the right person to ensure that the rule of law remains, in our national conscience, one of our most ingrained values.”
Garland was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1997 by former President Bill Clinton and served as chief judge for seven years. Before serving as a judge, he served in the ranks of the Justice Department as an assistant attorney general in Washington, DC, an assistant attorney general for the criminal division, and as an associate associate attorney general. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1974 and from Harvard Law School magna cum laude in 1977.