Government

Merrick Garland Schools Republicans On How The Actual Justice System Works

He took on the conspiracy theory dominating the Republican Party.

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Attorney General Garland Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Attorney General Merrick Garland is appearing before the House Judiciary Committee in what was mostly Republican posturing, but was ostensibly part of its annual oversight hearing. Garland is facing a potential contempt vote after refusing to turn over the interview tape between Joe Biden and former special counsel Robert Hur after Hur declined to seek charges against the sitting president for his handling of confidential documents. (The Department of Justice previously released the transcript of the interview, but Garland is holding the line on the tape, saying its release could intimidate future witnesses from cooperating with the DOJ.)

But there are a ton of attacks on the DOJ from the right these days. And Garland came out swinging during today’s testimony. He answered the bizarre claim that the DOJ was behind the New York prosecution of Donald Trump by reminding the GOP about the federalism they claim to love, saying they’re “false claims that a jury verdict in a state trial, brought by a local District Attorney, was somehow controlled by the Justice Department.” He continued, calling the claim a “conspiracy theory” that “is an attack on the judicial process itself.”

And he stood up for the integrity of the DOJ:

“I will not be intimidated. And the Justice Department will not be intimidated,” he said. “We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”

He also answered the specific claim that the far-right has latched onto, that former DOJ prosecutor Michael Colangelo is behind the Trump NY case. But Colangelo merely made a lateral career move — as so many lawyers do — moving from the DOJ to the NY District Attorney’s office. The move reunited Colangelo with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, as the two previously worked together at the New York Attorney General’s office. And Garland was having exactly none of the insinuation he orchestrated the job change.

“You had no problem dispatching Matthew Colangelo” to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said during the hearing.

“That is false. I did not dispatch Mr. Colangelo anywhere,” Garland said.

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But the question — or more accurately, accusation — from Gaetz was never about finding the truth behind the prosecution of Trump. It — like pretty much the entirety of the hearing — is only about scoring political point with their base and with Donald Trump himself.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.

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