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here is four hours. [inaudible] schwarze. [inaudible]

>> without objection today jewish. united states of america and t republic for which it stands onele nation under god indivisible liberty and justice for all. of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty an >> the chair is americanized for an opening statement. justice is no longer blind in america. today is driven by politics. example number one, trump. opening investigation in 2021 but doesn't bring charges until can't shall your president.

in which i would indict trump and call mr. cohen as a prosecution witness, but that's extl after president trump announced he was running for president. and the attorney general named ja three days after president trump announces he is running for president. four months earlier, before jack smith -- attorney general merrick garland approved a raid on his home, something we have neve witnessed in this great country. this action broke every norm in our justice system. don't take myit. former assistant director in charge of the washington -- so this in his deposition to not followed. washington field office ran that rain -- raid not the miami field office. it was ran out of headquarters, not from an assigned u.attorney's office as is customary. the fbi didn't seek consent before doing the raid and the fbi refused to wait fot trumps attorneys

to be present before the search was conducted. mr. bratton is on the special including just weeks before his and what's most troubling is what what he did to mr. stanley woodward. he represents one of the e documents case. he was summoned by -- informed stanley woodward. if you were guy flips your guy changes, it could help your chances for the judgeship you are unbelievable. and of course had tole this with the court. many people call this tampering with evidence. jack smith mishandled the very trump with mishandling. member what special counsel found. president biting normally --

president biden knowingly kept and disclosed classified information and then he told us why president biden told us. joe biden had strong motivations for ignoring the procedures from classified information because he was writing a book, a book for which he got paid $8 million. special --but jack smith can mishandle documents no problem. joe biden can handle these documents, no problem. never forget, this is the same department of justice who made david weiss the special counsel in thand half years investigating president n son and have this sweetheart deal he took to the court left out of court. he gets named special counsel. this is the same department of justice civil rights division has done nothing to address the -- this is the same department of justice who can't tell us who planted the pipe bombs on

january 6, who leaked the draft the white house. in this is the same department of justice who told us in a memo from the attorney general himself that moms and dads should be investigated, same department of -- life catholics are extremists. the same department of justice who censored americans and the retaliated against whistleblowerstw who came to this committee and told us about these wrongdoings. mr. burling, we are glad you are here today. we've got lots of questions. many americans believe there is now a double standard in our justice system. they believe that because there is. we are going to have lotss about that problem. with that, i yield to the ranking member for his opening statement. thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i've been in congress since 1992. my colleagues and i, of course, have had our political disagreements in the past 30 years. but ultimately, in this committee, we have worked together. more often than not, then it --

to pass transformative pieces le help the american people. legislation to protect women from domestic violence and sexual harassment. legislatioainst the lgbtq+ community. legislation to fight racial discrimination and hate crimes. legislation to protect proud of that regular success and i'm proud of how much work of substance we've accomplished in this hearing room under the leadership of chairman of both parties. which makes the current republican house that much more frustrat i have been a member of this committee for more than 30 years and our work came to a dead stopthe republicans took over the house and chairman jordan took the gavel of this committee. for it my republican colleagues have said it -- we have nothing. in my opinion, we have nothing to go out there and campaign on. it's embarrassing. representative royce said, quote, i want my republican ing, one, that i can go campaign on and say we did. one. anybody sitting in

want to come down to the floor in comics going to be one material, meaningful, significant things that the republican majoritythis committee, once an agent of momentum to move our -- has become little more than a field office for the trump campaign. republicans of this committee has spent 20 million taxpayer dollars working to get trump re- $20 million on from a witness who turned out to have ties to russian intelligence. $20 million attacking researchers who study this information and social media companies were trying to stop this information. all in an effort to ensure that russia can do whatever it wants to interfere in the november $20 million attacking the work of the justice department and fbi are doing to keep americans safe. to be clear, this $20 million effort seems nowhere close to satisfying maga extremist. they want more money -- on choosing conspiracy theories

depending donald trump. here's just a sampling of what they've had to say over the >> jim jordan, is little tweak, where the subpoenas? force the vote? >> that's what the american people want. what theye gutless, feckless wining of the republican establishment. >> i think jim jordan and his weaponization committee, his little weaponization -- right now. >> jim jordan, we don't need talk about standing behind donald j trump i want to see one of these guys actually act and stop auditioning for a job in the trump administration. >> it's all talk. i'm sick and tired of strongly worded with letters and i'm sick and tired of them going on fox and taking hits and then linking to a page and raising money on the carcass of donald trump. >> they don't really have trump's back. they want maga to go away.

>> we continue forcing these again like i did in my tweet. wouldn't it be great if a house judiciary gop actually does something? >> unfortunately, those are the sentiments that governmy republican colleagues here today . this hearing is not an attempt to conduct real robust oversight, the department of justice, but rather, inattentive flogged by the ministrations attorney general and to create an outward spiel work ridiculous conspiracy theory -- theories. that somehow they are executing -- for criminal activity that's been well documented. that is why the day after he was convicted on 34 felony counts by a jury of his peers, german jordan tried to drive please drag alvin bragg into this hearing room to discredit that's why they are making threats. they are trying to intimidate her after going -- interference prosecution.

extreme maga republicans we use every tool they have, persecute, harass, and impugn anyone who dares hold on donald trump accountable . that includes a special counsel appointed by the attorney general to investigate his role in the attacks of jaar classified documents from the white house. in of a convicted felon, they will have totally squandered their opportunity to do something meaningful for the american people. their failure on this front stands in stark contrast to attorney general garland's tenure at the department of justice, which is done vital work in recent years to protect people. under your leadership, mr. attorney general, the apartment -- the department is protecting consumers by ensuring ticketmaster can't exploit its hold on the entertainment indust. it's fighting to reduce violent crime and its help achieving decreasing levels of homicide, assaults, an the country. is combating the retinal epidemic. taking tens of millions of sentinel pills off the street

ckers and dealers. is defending reproductive freedom. fighting to keep abortion, healthcare, and medications accessible to american women. it's ensuring our election infrastructures safe and secure so that we have a fully functional, secure, and safe election this november, without foreign interference. and so, so much more. this doj is g ve the important job of making sure they do that work well. unfortunately, republicans on this committee, under the chairman's leadership, don't want to help the doj employees do their jobs. they want to stop them from doing any work at all. taking them out at the kn because that is what donald trump wants. what's in the interest of the american people. they just care about getting their favorite felon back in e house. darrell garland, thank you for being here today, i apologize in advance for the wild conspiracies and lies that will be you and i don't agree on everything. but you are a man of great character and professional integrity. you take great comfort --

comfort in knowing that nothing that my republican colleagues here will change the thoughtfulness and decency that mark yo leadership of the department. i urge you not to take this process too personally. the desperation has nothing to do with general. thank you for being here, and i yield back. >> we will now introduce today's witnesses for the honorable merrick garland is the attorney gene united states. he was sworn in on march 11th, 2021. we welcome our witness and thank him for appearing by swearing you in. do you please rise and raise your right hand. do you swear, affirm under penalty of perjury that the test when you read to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and information, so help me god. let the record show that the witness has answered in the affirmative. your -- we you done several times before attorney general. you can start with your opening statement and i want to make outset

that anytime you need a break, we are going to have to go to break, just get your team a hold of our team and we will be happy to do that. your recognize for your opening statement. >> thank you, chairman jordan. ranking member and distinguish members of since i last appeared before you, whether 115,000 employees of the department of justice have continued their work to ion on behalf of the american people. to keep our country safe, to protect civil rights, and to uphold the rule of law. just 10 days ago, we secure the extradition of one of the -- cartel, one the mocking organizations the world. just last month, we secured a 27 year prison sentence for a man who attempted to kill nypd officers in a terrorist attack in time square in 2022. it just the first three months of this year, they charge seven members of the chinese government . we disrupted a botnet controlled by russian intelligence services and we seized over $108 million and 500,000 barrels of fuel that

would otherwise have enabled the gornment of iran to further support hamas and other terrorist groups. we have continued our work to drive down violent crime. work off. last year's historic decline in homicides, the largest one year de, is continuing. the first quarter of this year, we have already seen an 18% drop in murders. we know we have much more to do. we ha in our commitment to the justice department's founding purpose, to protect civil rights. we have aggres hate crimes that victimize individuals and terrorize entire communities, and we have brought justice to the perpetrators of those crimes. like the defendant in florida because of the color of their skin. the defendant in michigan who defaced synagogues with swastikas. the defendant in missouri who set fire to the community

islamic center. and the defendant in tennessee whrgeting catholic, methodist, and baptist churches. we have worked to protect the re aren't protected by federal law, and idaho insured that the women in the ate ll have access to the emergency care guaranteed to them under federal law. we the right to vote and to have that vote count.essfully challenged a redistricting plan in galveston county, texas, the district court recognized that the plan act by depriving the counties bland latino voters of an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect a candidate of their choice. we have continued to prosecute fraud and we have challenged illegal monopolies that drive up prices for consumers. this year, we tried to break up -- for the monopoly of a live concert. we sued apple 0ífor monopolizing smart phone records. we have also continue to fulfill our responsibility that

underlies all of our work to uphold the rule of law. that is why we have worked to combat a worrying spike of threats of violence against those who serve the public. those threats have included targeting of members of congress, police officers, judges, jurors, election workers, and the justice department's own employees. let me be clear. if anyone threatens public servants with violence, we will hold them accounta and we will continue to protect our democratic institutions like this one and to bring to iminally responsible for the january 16th attack on our democracy. as , i will continue to forcefully defend the independence of thejustice department from improper influence or interference of any kind and i will continue to fiercely protect the integrity of our criminal investigations. nothing will deter me from

fulfilling my obligation to uphold includes ensuring that the justice department respects congress' important role in our democracy. that's why we've gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure that the committee response to a legitimate request for information. that is why i the committee with special counsel her -- hur's report. and why we committee with a transcript of the special interview with the presidentbut we have made clear that we will not provide audio recordings from which the transcripts that you alread have were created. releasing the audio would -- in future investigations, and it could influence witnessesthe audio other law enforcement interviews will be broadcast to congress and the public.

in response, certain members of this committee and the oversight committee are seeking contempt as a means of obtaining for no legitimate purpose. sensitive law enforcement information that could harm the integrity of future investigations. this effort is only the most recent in a long line of attacks on the justice department's work. it comes alongside threats topartment investigationsmost recently, the special counsel's prosecution of the former president. it comes alongside false claims that a jury verdict and a state trial by a local district attorney was somehow controlled by the justice department. that conspiracy theoryis an attack on the judicial process itself. it comes as individual career agents and prosecutors have been singled out just for doing their jobs. it comes as basele extremely dangerous falsehoods are being spread about the fbi's law enforcement

operations. at a time when we are seeing a heinous threats of violence being directed at thereer civil servants. these repeated attacks on the justice department are unprecedented and they are unfounded. these attacks have not, and they will not influence our decisi i view content as a serious matter jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations. i t be intimidated. in the justice department will not be intimidated. we will continue to do our jobs free back down from defending democracy. i look forward -- >> i have a few items. >> they have to have it right now?

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package as it routinely does. >> thank you. in other words, when former president trump makes an allegation, he is either deliberately, or is often the case, , either deliberately lying, or as often the casehe's talking about. thank you. i yield back. >> thank you. mr. attorney general, there is no -- the fact for the first erican history, we do have a presidential administration is working to put its opponent in jail. that is a fact. and that, and opponent is a former president of the united states. as i understand the facts, jack smith was a principal player in the irs targeting the tea party. he was a well established record prosecutorial abuse.

then you appointed osecute the former president of the united states who happens to be running against your boss. now this is entirecluding approving an unprecedented surge in the former presidents home. and though you just maintain that the local ecutfact that the manhattan case, the third ranking official in your department left it to join spearhead the new york prosecution. it let a prosecutor strategized for hours that the white counsel will advance the filing in that case. and you just refused mr. gaetz's request to al -- so what are all this? >> i have to disagree with the characterizations that you've made. we are happy to take into account the request, that's the normal process. we will respond to -- >> which characterization you question. >> i disagree with your characterization that that this person was sent by my office. >> it is e third ranking official in your office believes it to go to a local prosecutors office to prosecute this case.

>> the justice department had nothing to do with that person going. he was the principal deputy to the third ranking. >> will -- it's important that your department be above reproach and clearly, it's not. special counsel hur concluded that although there was evidence that president biden had willfully disclose classified materials when he was a private citizen, his words, criminal other things president biden is, quote, sympathetic, we-meaning, elderly man with poor memory. do you agree with that decision? >> i've said before and i'll say again, i'm not going to commcounsel for. i'm not going to comment on mr. hur's. he testified for five hours before this committee. >> this is a department of justice matter. you are the attorney general there's no prosecution involved at this point. >> of course it matters. explain the rationale for his

decision in that case and he explaierences between that case and the case involving the former president. >> well, i do want to thank you for your testimony expressing concern for terrorist attacks. we've had 5 million illegal immigrants deliberately while the border patrol's been -- 2 million -- now last year, your fbi director to committee that he believes this constitutes a massive security threat. again, his words. do you agree with that never going to be disagreeing with the fbi director, but my recollection, he said that there is known terrorist organizations crossing the border and the fbi will do everything it can to follow those people if they manage to make it across the border and to assure that -- >> we can go into that in great detafear is that we can face attack from the elements of the millions who've entered the country illegally over the last theory -- three years. is this justify? >> i'm worried about the possibility of a terrorist attack after october 7. the

threat level has gone up enormously. every morning, we worry about this question. of course, this is -- >> you now have millions and millions who have been allowed into invaded the border patrol, they been overwhelmed admitting these millions in. i worry about the stage is set for something very bad happening in the very near future because of your policies. just reported that the president intends to use section 212 fto turn back illegal entrance once they reach 2500 a day. that's nearly 1 million a year. that's not closing the barn that's keeping it propped open indefinitely. but it is a lower number that your administration has

tolerated so far. at the last three years, 3 1/2 years, the president has maintained that he has no such authority. what has changed other thane election? >> i'm going to have to refer you to the department of homeland security, wh issues. i would say that the best way to protect the border is to pass the bipartisan legislation that was -- >> but you are responsible. the bipartisan legislation would have forbidden the future presidents from using that very authority -- >> gentlemen's time. >> 4000 today. >> the gentlemen's time has expired. with call votes on the floor. i think we're trying to do a couple more questions and then will bring for proximately 50 minutes, mr. attorn general. >> thank you for your attendance here, general garland. i'm a little perplexed. i'd like to ask if you questions. they raise the fact that is the first time that there's been a prosecution of the present has gone after, allegedly gone after his opponent. has there ever been another time in history were a president in the insurrection -- other than ja >> the answer is no, but i do not intend to comment. the

charges of the prosecution of the former president any more than i would comment on mr. hur's report. i'to matter that -- before the court. >> thank it was said to my quota that one of the reno indictment of president biden , ered a sympathetic character. in the trump case, did anyone consider hey -- him a synthetic i'm bawling back on my respect for the court process. the fact that cases are -- >> i've got -- >> i just can't comment. >> mr. jordan, in d on the execution of the search warrant, said it's different in all these different ways. omni classified documents were found pursuant to that search warrant and how many times have this been an attempt to get this classified document and they been refused? >> so i don't know that, i

don't have in my head the number, that's all the public co re, including the number of times that efforts were made to obtain through legal process of documents. >> this whole hearing is about weaponization of the justice department and the suggestion that theirs is somehow your department was involved in the prosecution of donald trump and the state court in new york. as far as weaponization in the department goes, did the justice department indict r menendez? >> it's a matter of >> and he's a democrat, isn't he? >> i'm assuming the answer is yes. >> and jumatter of public record. >> so hunter who is the son of the president, is under trial in delaware and soyou have a weapon eyes justice departmeotecting democrats, menendez, -- and hunter biden. >> the justice department w.

were prosecuting live cases live and we make decisionsin different ways. we don't allow the political partythe ethnicity or the religion or the rays or the wealth someone we are investigating to make a difference in our charging decisions. >> i noticed mr. gaetz took you on first . he's not here now. that's unfortunate, because he is a living testament to the fact and direct evidence that you have not weapon eyes the justice department. he was investigated for sex trafficking won't many expected -- you chose not to prosecute him. >> i'm sorry. i'm not surewhat is in the public record and what is not. so i will not comment on that. >> in certain areas is decreasing and i thank you for that.

unfortunately, memphis is not one of the areas that has not degrees, but we are working on it. it was the seco the violent crime initiative, and i thank you for getting your department involved in trying to reduce the murders and violent crime in our city. my city. resources have been helpful, based on her conversations with the u.s. attorney and the district attorney and i want to thank you for that. can you share some of the department's successes in tackling violent crime? >> yes. as i said in my opening, and i these are not the justice department's successes, they are the violent crime relies on the partnership in state and local law which face the violent crime most directly. we fight in support of them and our ability to bring