When Attorney General Merrick Garland took the stand before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, he did so amid an extraordinary time for the Justice Department, which is mired in a number of investigations and battles: Fights over protecting voting and abortion rights, cybersecurity concerns and investigating criminal cases related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“In seven months, the Justice Department has accomplished a lot of important work for the American people. and there is much more to do,” Garland said.
In his opening remarks at the start of what is likely to be a contentious, heated hearing, Garland laid out the “three co-equal priorities” which guide the Department of Justice’s work that he discussed on his first day as attorney general:
- Upholding the rule of law
- Keeping our country safe
- Protecting civil rights
The first priority, Garland said, is ingrained in the department’s DNA, and that the rule of law “is the foundation of our democracy.”
“The essence of the rule of law is that like cases are treated alike,” Garland said. “That there not be one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans; one rule for friends, another for foes; one rule for the rich and another for the poor; or different rules depending on one’s race or ethnicity. The integrity of our legal system is premised on adherence to the rule of law.”
Garland’s hearing comes ont he same day that the House is set to vote on holding Steve Bannon, an ally of former President Donald Trump, in contempt for defying a subpoena from the Congressional panel investigating the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. If the House votes to recommend a contempt charge, the matter will be referred to the Justice Department to decide whether or not to prosecute.
Democrats have demanded that the DOJ take action and restore the power of Congressional subpoenas, which were largely flaunted under the Trump administration.
“The stakes are enormous,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a member of the Jan. 6 panel, said. “The Congress of the United States under Article One has the power to investigate in order to inform our deliberations about how to legislate going forward. That’s what this is about.”
“The ex-President and his allies continue to cast doubt on the last election and appear to be drafting a plan to overturn the next one,” House Judiciary chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said at the beginning of the hearing. “And next time, we may not be so lucky.”
Garland, for his part, characterized the Jan. 6 riot on Thursday as an “intolerable assault, not only on the Capitol and the brave law enforcement personnel who sought to protect it, but also on a fundamental element of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power.”
“The Department is engaged in one of the most sweeping investigations in its history in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol,” Garland told the committee.
“I have great confidence in the prosecutors who are undertaking these cases,” Garland added. “They are doing exactly what they are expected to do: make careful determinations about the facts and the applicable law in each individual case.”
Garland will also no doubt touch on questions about Texas’ restrictive abortion law, which bans most abortions at six weeks and is being challenged by the Biden administration, as well as efforts to combat efforts from Republican-led legislatures in states across the country to restrict access to the ballot box.
Republicans, on the other hand, repeatedly pressed Garland on the Justice Department’s announcement that they will combat the “rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel,” specifically when it comes to mask mandates and other efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland wrote in part. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”
The effort came after the National School Boards Association penned a letter to President Joe Biden asking federal assistance to investigate and stop threats made over policies including mask mandates, likening the vitriol to a form of domestic terrorism. At Garland’s direction, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will meet with city, state, Tribal and local leaders over the course of the coming months to create specific strategies to address the “disturbing trend.”
Republicans have seized on this action by the Justice Department. A number of prominent figures, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, all vocal critics of the Biden administration, falsely claiming that the DOJ is using this to spy on parents or silence them at school board meetings. Fact checkers have classified this as a baseless claim.
Garland said Thursday that while parents should absolutely participate in school board meetings and express their concerns and opinions about the education their children are receiving, threats of violence against school officials are not protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, and the department will investigate and prosecute such threats.
“We are trying to prevent violence and threats of violence not only in schools,” Garland said. “We have similar concerns with respect to election workers, with respect to hate crime, with respect to judges and police officers.”
But Republicans have accused the DOJ of overstepping its authority. “Jefferson said once tyranny is when the people fear the government,” Rep. Jordan said Thursday. “We are there.”
The Attorney General also touted the work the department has done “reinvigorating civil rights enforcement.”
“We are scrutinizing new laws that seek to curb voter access, and where we see violations, we will not hesitate to act,” Garland said. “We are also scrutinizing current laws and practices to determine whether they discriminate against Black voters and other voters of color.”
