Driving the news: According to his opening statement, released on Saturday night, Garland plans to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that, if confirmed, he will fight discrimination and domestic terrorism.
- He will highlight his career as a prosecutor – notably his oversight of the investigation of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.
- In the siege of the Capitol, Garland will say that he intends to “oversee the process 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 new government. elected. “
- Regarding the independence of the attorney general’s position, Garland will say, “The president appoints the attorney general to be the attorney – not for any individual, but for the people of the United States.”
For registration: Garland, 68, was born in Chicago and graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, and has served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 1997.
- He was appointed by President Obama in 2016 to succeed the late Judge Antonin Scalia.
- But then-Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Avoided that, insisting that the replacement should be chosen by the newly elected president later that year. Judge Neil Gorsuch was later confirmed under the Trump administration.
Of importance: Former Trump administration attorney general Bill Barr was criticized during his tenure by Democrats, who accused him of political interference in criminal cases on behalf of the former president – which he vehemently rejected.
- At his last press conference as Attorney General in December, Barr took the rare step of publicly contradicting Trump on several controversial issues, including Hunter Biden, electronic voting machines and Russia behind the hacking of federal agencies.
Read Garland’s full opening statement via DocumentCloud:
Editor’s note: this article has been updated with new details.