Fiery Garland Hearing ‘Embarrassing,’ Democrats Say
Just one Republican defended the attorney general during the five-hour session
Wednesday’s Justice Department oversight hearing became an “embarrassment,” as Republicans used it to peddle conspiracy theories and try to play “gotcha” with Attorney General Merrick Garland over the investigation into Hunter Biden, according to Democrats.
Over and over Garland clashed sharply with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who tried to say that his handling of the years-long probe into President Biden's son has been improper.
Garland stated outright — over and over again — that he has no influence on the investigation into potential criminal activity by the younger Biden, who was recently indicted on multiple federal gun charges.
The investigation into Hunter Biden had been run by the U.S. Attorney for Delaware, Trump appointee David Weiss, who Garland kept on to finish the probe and insulate it from claims of political interference. Garland granted Weiss special counsel status last month, giving him broad authority to investigate and report his findings.
Last week, Weiss used that new authority to indict Hunter Biden on federal firearms charges, putting the case on track toward a possible trial as the 2024 election looms.
Just one Republican during the more than five-hour hearing came to Garland’s defense.
Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, a former Justice Department prosecutor, told Garland that he was in an impossible situation after inheriting an investigation into the president’s son and would have been criticized no matter what.
“Do you know what people would have said if you had asked for U.S. Attorney Weiss’ resignation when you became attorney general?” Buck asked Garland. “They would have said that you were obstructing the Hunter Biden investigation and you were firing a Republican appointee so that you could appoint a Democrat to slow walk this investigation.”
He added, “You would have been criticized either way, whether you acted or did not act in that situation.”
Republicans shamed themselves by repeatedly asserting some improper behavior on Garland's part, according to various Democrats.
“I feel embarrassment for our committee, for the dignity of our work. I feel that embarrassment. Speaking to other moderate Republicans, who are sadly too quiet, they are embarrassed for this,” said Rep Madeleine Dean (D-Pa), a member of the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m on other committees. I’m on Foreign Affairs. There is a dignity to our disagreement. You see in this committee, the Judiciary Committee, there’s no dignity. There was no oversight. This is fecklessness and fealty to one former president.
“And I was thinking, you know, the attorney general was sworn in to tell the truth. I wish that all of us had been sworn in to tell the truth, because you saw the lie after lie after disinformation on this committee. It is shameless, but they know no shame,” Dean added.
Another Democratic member of House Judiciary agreed, in a separate interview, saying that Republicans are trying to deflect from the fact that under their leadership the federal government is headed towards a shutdown at the end of the month.
“Well, it was embarrassing. They kept yelling things that were untrue. Really, in a way, a propaganda, if you say a lie over and over again, some people will believe it,” said Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif). “You know, the other thing I’ve learned is the MAGA group, if they make an allegation, it’s one of two things. It’s either something they’ve done or something they would do. And so, they are projecting that somehow there was political interference.
“Of course, Mr. Trump has said, if he gets back into the presidency, he will direct the Department of Justice to prosecute his enemies. The current president isn’t doing that,” she added. “And the other thing is, this was a major distraction from what they should be doing about 10 days from now. Unless they can get their act together, the Republicans are going to shut the government down. So, you know, diverting attention with this wild stuff is not going to save them from that catastrophe.”
Please support our work…
Please subscribe…