Attorney General Merrick Garland is testifying at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday dedicated to oversight of the Justice Department at a time when the agency is in the middle of several high-profile cases and controversies.
Republicans have seized on Garland’s recent memo to Justice Department employees about intervening in incidents of violence or intimidation targeting state and local school board officials. GOP lawmakers have criticized Garland for overstepping by getting involved in matters that should be handled by state and local law enforcement, and for issuing the memo days after the National School Boards Association asked the Biden administration to utilize tools including the terrorism-related PATRIOT Act to deal with these situations. The NSBA cited incidents of non-violent disruption of school board meetings where parents voiced their concerns about issues such as the teaching of critical race theory, prompting Republicans to voice fears that federal involvement will influence conservatives to keep quiet instead of continuing to engage with officials.
Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to show a video of parents at school board meetings during his opening remarks, but Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., refused, claiming that Jordan did not provide 48 hours’ notice. Jordan stated that there is no official rule requiring such notice, but Nadler did not allow the video to be shown.
Garland did not directly address the school board issue at all in his opening statement. He did make general comments about protecting Americans from threats, while also safeguarding people’s freedoms.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
(Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
“Every person living in this country expects and deserves that their government protect them against a wide range of threats – from international and domestic terrorism to cyber-attacks to violent crime and drug trafficking,” Garland said in prepared remarks submitted to the committee. “As our country’s chief law enforcement officer, I am committed to supporting law enforcement at all levels as they work to protect our country from these threats, while also zealously guarding civil liberties and ensuring our own accountability to the American people.”
Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, was quick to bring up the school board issue early in the hearing, telling Garland that he “found it deeply disturbing that the National School Boards Association convinced the Biden administration to sick you and your Justice Department, the FBI … on involved parents as if they were domestic terrorists.”
Chabot noted that he and Nadler were both on the committee when Congress passed the PATRIOT Act, and that at the time they both had concerns about how the law could be used or abused.
“I can tell you, not in a million years did we dream that one day we would see the Justice Department treat American parents as domestic terrorists,” Chabot said.
“No one has the right to be violent or threaten violence” he added. He stated that violent actors can be dealt with by security or other officials, “but we don’t need the vast power of the federal government throwing its weight around.”
In response, Garland noted that his memo did not mention domestic terrorism or the PATRIOT Act, and did not envision such issues coming into play regarding school board incidents.
“Like you, I can’t imagine any circumstance in which the PATRIOT Act would be used in the circumstances of parents complaining about their children nor can I imagine a circumstance where they would be labeled as domestic terrorists,” he said.
Another issue that Garland could face as the hearing progresses is the ongoing surge of migrants crossing the southern border. The attorney general was among administration leaders who traveled to Mexico earlier this month to discuss border security.
Garland’s Justice Department is also dealing with the issue of abortion, asking the Supreme Court to block enforcement of a Texas law that bans most abortions after doctors have detected a fetal heartbeat. This typically occurs around six weeks into a pregnancy – before some women are aware that they are pregnant and well before the established standard of fetal viability.
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The attorney general could also face questions regarding the FBI’s failures in investigating claims against convicted sex offender and former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Athletes including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, discussing how officials failed to act upon their allegations. Nassar was ultimately convicted in multiple state trials, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco revealed that the DOJ was reviewing their decision not to charge FBI agents for their conduct during their investigation.
Garland’s testimony also comes the same day that the full House will be voting on whether to hold former Trump administration adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena from a House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. If the House passes the resolution, the matter will be referred to the DOJ to determine whether or not to prosecute Bannon.
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President Biden had weighed in on the matter, stating that the DOJ should prosecute those who do not comply with subpoenas. A DOJ spokesperson responded by stating that the Department will make that determination for themselves.
“The Department of Justice will make its own independent decisions in all prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law,” the spokesperson said. “Period. Full stop.”
