Earlier today, Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee at an oversight hearing for the Department of Justice. Both Ranking Member Grassley and Chairman Durbin noted that Garland has been less than responsive to requests for information from Congress.
.@ChuckGrassley currently taking AG Garland to task for not responding to basic requests for information from Congress. Sen. Durbin also complained about lack of Garland DOJ responsiveness in his opening. https://t.co/G28eebKKVP
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
Republican Senators questioned AG Garland on a variety of issues.
We have record levels of illegal immigration day after day overwhelming our southern border patrol officers, and the number one law enforcement official in the country says he gets his updates on the border from the news media.
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) October 27, 2021
Unreal. https://t.co/yjEjhgkV5y
Attorney General Merrick Garland to Sen. @MarshaBlackburn on Durham investigation: "His budget has been approved...With respect to the report, I would like as much as possible to be made public." pic.twitter.com/WzWDXG9IGQ
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 27, 2021
.@SenTomCotton asks Attorney General Garland: "Are you investigating Tony Fauci for lying to Congress? pic.twitter.com/vKhKasBR6d
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 27, 2021
Most notably, members questioned AG Garland at length about the controversy over a Department of Justice memo that many see as threatening towards parents who voice concerns at their local school board meetings and exercise their First Amendment rights.
.@ChuckGrassley questions why DOJ's National Security Division would be involved in school board investigations at all. Says this sounds like something from a communist country.
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
.@JohnCornyn asks AG Garland if he considered the chilling effect his school board memo would have on parents exercising their constitutional rights. Garland refuses to answer directly but says he thinks it's unreasonable to read memo as chilling anyone's rights.
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
As an exchange with @SenTomCotton illustrates, AG Garland has spent the hearing trying to conceal the motive behind his anti-parent memorandum.
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
.@SenSasse points out that AG Garland is doing the exact opposite of what he promised he would do during his confirmation process—the anti-parent memorandum wouldn’t have been approved without “political hackery.”
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
At least one U.S. Attorney is already trying to implement the DOJ's memo, and AG Garland refused to take responsibility for the shocking way parents are being targeted around the country.
As @SenJohnKennedy points out, regardless of what AG Garland has said about the intent behind the memorandum, the reality is that it is being carried out in a way that is harshly targeting parents wanting to voice their concerns about their local school boards.
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) October 27, 2021
Garland knew federal prosecutors would go after parents. It’s what he wanted. It’s why he activated DOJ and the FBI in the first place to interfere in local school districts. And now federal prosecutors are compiling lists of all the crimes parents can be prosecuted for pic.twitter.com/tn8ucZgys8
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 27, 2021
Similar to his responses at a House oversight hearing last week, AG Garland refused to acknowledge an apparent conflict of interest created by the DOJ's memo and AG Garland's son-in-law being involved in the promotion of critical race theory curriculum.
Sen. Ted Cruz @tedcruz grills Merrick Garland on whether or not his son-in-law profits from Critical Race Theory in schools. pic.twitter.com/XbaK2nALV3
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) October 27, 2021
It has become abundantly clear that despite AG Garland's promises to keep the Department of Justice as non-partisan as possible, it has become an enforcement mechanism for the Biden Administration's radical agenda.
Merrick Garland's performance as Attorney General has been shameful. He should resign in disgrace. pic.twitter.com/oyRg9Sc2NV
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 27, 2021