Joe Biden’s attorney general pick Merrick Garland vows to prosecute Trump supporters who attacked US Capitol
- Garland also signalled he’ll make decisions independently from Biden
- The president has said he’ll let his attorney general make the tough calls on touchy matters, including pending investigations of his son
“If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 – a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government,” Garland said in an opening statement prepared for his confirmation hearing on Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
How violence reached the core of US democracy
“One of the most serious pieces of damage done by the last administration was the politicising of the Justice Department,” Biden said at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee on February 16. “Their prosecutorial decisions will be left to the Justice Department, not me.”
In the testimony released on Saturday night, Garland indicated that, if confirmed, he’ll seek to restore policies and practices the department developed before the Trump administration, including those that the nominee said protect the agency “from partisan influence in law enforcement investigations,” those that “strictly regulate” communications with the White House and those that respect the professionalism of career employees.
Just getting a hearing for the cabinet post will be vindication for Garland almost five years after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of his nomination to the Supreme Court by president Barack Obama. This time, Garland has bipartisan support and is expected to be confirmed.
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