Attorney General Merrick Garland Faces Congressional Panel Amid Ongoing Special Counsel Investigation

Washington – Attorney General Merrick Garland is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, facing the new 118th Congress for the first time.

Garland will tout the Department’s achievements over the past year and will focus on three priorities: preserving the rule of law, preserving national security and protecting civil rights, according to a Justice Department spokesperson. It’s a schedule.

The country’s top law enforcement officer is also expected to highlight the department’s work in combating the rise in violent crime in his opening address. hate crimework together Ukraine oppose and protect against brutal Russian aggression reproductive freedom After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Law vs Wadesaid the spokesperson.

According to an excerpt from Garland’s opening remarks obtained by CBS News, Garland will remind the committee that Justice Department officials “counter complex threats to national security” every day.

“They fiercely protect the civil rights of our citizens,” Garland is expected to say. We will prosecute crimes that victimize people who protect our democratic institutions.”

His testimony comes as his department grapples with a number of politically sensitive inquiries likely to be brought up by senators at Wednesday’s hearings. President Joe Biden and former president donald trump‘s handling of classified documents and an ongoing investigation into the behavior of Mr. Biden’s son and frequent Republican target, Hunter. Trump Special Counsel, jack smithalso investigating the former president’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, has subpoenaed the former president. Vice President Mike Pence As part of a probe.

garland is Said For his department, nothing is “higher priority” than being held accountable, regardless of whether those responsible for the riot were in the Capitol that day.

Republicans in Congress has already started It compares two high-profile studies on Biden and Trump, claims unequal treatment that favors Democrats over Republicans, and seeks more information on the department’s decision-making.

The Department of Justice’s 100,000 employees are battling issues important to many other countries that Garland wants to speak to. ghost gun to fight in the American community China’s data weaponization and Russian assistance ransomware attack — but it remains to be seen how much of these topics he will be able to bring up in the limited time available for the hearing.

The department is also working on a federal civil rights investigation into the death of tire nichols In Memphis, an unarmed black man dies after being beaten in police custody. Garland and FBI Director. Chris Ray has pledged his support to the allegations of police misconduct.

The former judge turned attorney general also makes bipartisan areas of interest a priority. Fentanyl Against death across the country and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Last year, the Justice Department task force Prosecute Russian oligarchs and their supporters who evaded US sanctions and pledged their help to investigate war crimes against Ukrainian citizens. In February, Garland welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart to the capital and unveiled new tactics in the international fight to counter Russian aggression.

On Tuesday, senior Biden administration officials, including Garland, said: started a full courtroom playThe U.S. government is updating its politically-imposed surveillance program, long considered essential to combating foreign terrorism, cyberattacks, and espionage under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). I am asking Congress to do so.

But Garland made it face opposition On this issue, many congressional Republicans are skeptical of the intelligence agency, believing that the spy agency misused its surveillance powers to undermine former President Donald Trump.