second day of confirmation hearings for merrick garland. today's first day of hearings was very newsy tomorrow should be a big deal. deb holland for interior secretary. she would be the first native american in history if confirmed. i'll see you again tomorrow night. now it is time for "the last word" can lawrence o'donnell. >> as you know, beto o'rourke is one of the texans who did not go to cancun when the crisis hit, and he's going to join us at the end of this hour and tell us what he's been doing, including with alexandria ocasio-cortez who showed what a little new york energy could do for texas over the weekend. katie porter will join us as the code bill speeds towards passage in the house this week. nine committees, nine committees have almost invisibly, although they did it publically had markups of this bill and voted on it. but, you know, because there was senate impeachment trial going on, we didn't really pay much attention to that. and now it's pretty much ready to go through the house at the end of the week. so that will be wh

investigation to bring these perpetrators to justice and to prevent future domestic terror attacks than merrick garland. when he previously served at the justice department, judge garland oversaw the investigation of prosecution of the largest domestic terrorism attack in recent history, the oklahoma city bombing. his qualifications and experience are well suited for the moment we face. as our nation's top law enforcement officer, the attorney general is a key part of the president's national security team. the attorney general oversees our nation's law enforcement response to threats both foreign and domestic. my republican colleagues have frequently talked about the importance of letting a new president get his national security team in place at the start of his new administration. dismight the unresolved -- despite the unresolved nation of the senate's organizing resolution, other senate committees have come together on a bipartisan basis to schedule prompt hearings and votes for nominees, including the secretary of defense, director of national intelligence, secretary of homeland security and secre

we are waiting on merrick garland to arrive on capitol hill.orts are that he could be in place any minute. he will make his way over to 216 hart to sit center stage before the judiciary committee. it is day one of two days of confirmation hearings, nearly five years after he was blocked from getting confirmation hearing for a supreme court seat. our coverage begins in 30 minutes. up next, we will take a closer look at the fda and cdc advisory board with approving the covid-19 vaccines. we will be right back. >> here is our live coverage tuesday. at 10:00, the senate confirmation hearing for bobby or becerra, health and human -- javier besera. on c-span 2, confirmation hearing on tom vilsack. on c-span 3, at 10:00, jerome powell with a semiannual monetary policy report to congress. on c-span.org at 9:30 a.m., the confirmation hearing for debra haaland. watch live coverage tuesday on c-span, c-span 2, c-span 3, c-span.org. or listen on the c-span radio app. >> monday night, a discussion on cord cutting the pandemic with a senior research analyst.

we all remember the way merrick garland, a judge in the circuit court of the dc circuit was treated by senate republicans in 2016 when he was nominated by president obama to the supreme court . i'm not going to recount the entire history today but i will tell you it was not a proud moment for the united states senate when senate leaders on the other side of the aisle announced they would not give him a hearing. they literally would not even meet with him and give him the dignity of such an opportunity to discuss his nomination for the supreme court. but i do want to talk about the urgency of putting president biden's national security team in place including the president's nominee for attorney general. our country faces as we learned on january sixth challenges of great importance at this moment in our history. as we face that mom assault on the capital building for the first time since the war of 1812 , our capital was breached by attackers. domestic terrorists, domestic terrorists who were part of a coordinated, comprehensive effort to stop the government of the united states. that

there are questions that merrick garland will not do that.isten to senator grassley here. >> what i don't want a return to the obama years. i don't want an attorney general who bragged about being a wing man and those are his words, to the president. that was eric holder, notoriously describing himself. i don't want to justice department that abuses the fisa process to spy on american citizens. that is why i am especially concerned about the durham investigation. simply said "crossfire hurricane" is a textbook example what shouldn't happen during investigations. what the obama administration did to the trump campaign, transition and administration can't ever happen again. elizabeth: what do you think, ric? >> reminds me of all the calls i had with chuck grassley where he was pushing me on some of the same issues. look this guy knows, this senator knows exactly what has been going on. he is in charge and he is getting to the bottom of that. we also have to say ron johnson. together those two have really dug deep to figure this out. and, i want

judge merrick garland got a confirmation hearing. what will happen if he takes charge of the investigation of the capitol attack? >> i think this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes that i've ever seen and one that i never expected to see in my lifetime. mercedes-benz suvs were engineered with only one mission in mind. to be the best. in the category, in the industry... in the world. lease the gla 250 suv for just $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. last night's sleep, interrupted by pain? tonight, silence it with new zzzquil night pain. because pain should never get in the way of a restful night's sleep. new zzzquil night pain. silence pain, sleep soundly. dry, distressed skin that struggles? new aveeno® restorative skin therapy. with our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. tonight, i'll be eating the al pastor burrito from boca burritos right here in aurora. (doorbe

trump to biden as for us who lived in the department of justice as it will be going from barr to merrick garland. >> i want to ask both of you about this reporting about the role that prosecuting timothy mcveigh had on him. this is actually part of the garland story. i remember reading it when he was nominated but not really focusing on it. i don't know all of these details were ever shared. i want to read this from "the washington post." "garland said he initially feared because of reports of additional threats and truck bombs the oklahoma city explosion was just the beginning of some kind of rebellion or war. larry mackie, a prosecutor in the mcveigh case and that of co-conspirator terry nichols said garland encouraged investigators to run down possible connections to militia groups, cognizant the case had greater meaning for the nation. his message, and we certainly understood and believed it and i think ultimately the jury did as well, is we're going to respond to terrorism by relying on the institutions that made this country so great, mackie said. merrick's team and prosecution's theme was

and that, changes everything. ♪ ♪ >>> president biden's pick to lead the justice department merrick garlandce senators in his confirmation hearing tomorrow. garland, of course, was president obama's 2016 supreme court nominee, but his nomination was scuttled by then senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. merrick garland is facing tough questions from republican lawmakers on just how he intends to lead the justice department in this post-trump era. here's part of his opening statement. 150 years after the department's founding, the institution also remains central to its mission. if confirmed, i will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the capitol on january 6. a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy. the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government. >>> cnn's jessica snyder has more. >> our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose. >> reporter: judge merrick garland guaranteed impartiality when he accepted the nomination for attorney general one day after the capitol insurrection. but the issues he's expect

i think that's the job that merrick garland will have today. someone who understood the department's core values and principles and respect them would lead the department again. i think that's the job that judge garland will have. i think, frankly, in some instances it will be an easy one. it's not going be hard to write the internal ship at doj because that's ha the career employees expect. that's what they want to see. there's a culture they will respond to. the more difficult challenge will be restoring public confidences and kind of letting the american public know again that after four turbulent year the department of justice is really independent and decisions are on the fact and the law and not because what the president of the united states wants. >> if we look at the invest igss that merrick garland will touch in the course of his tenure that run the gam met from the former president of the united states to the current president's son with all sorts of political pressures buffeting him from capitol hill to elsewhere. how do you see him

judge merrick garland got a confirmation hearing. what will happen if he takes charge of the investigation of the capitol attack? >> i think this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes that i have ever seen and one that i never expected to see in my lifetime. kraft. for the win win. tonight i'll be eating a calzone from doughballs in aurora. (doorbell) rock on. tonight i'll be eating lobster thermidor au gratin. really? sh-yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. make it two calzones! the harry's razor is not the same ♪ because some of us are not the same ♪ our close shave comes from our 5 german-engineered blades designed to start sharp and stay sharp. and we never upcharge you for high quality. so for those of us who don't want just the same, harry's razors are here. harry's. not the same. these folks, they don't have time to e go to the post officecom. they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right fr

can merrick garland fix what trump broke? remember, it's not like they were operating without guidance, without protocols, without rules. they -- those institutions were there, judge garland was among the small group of officials who helped bring them to life. and i think he is going to be able to revert and he's going to have the legion of civil servants who work at the justice department behind him. >> in his opening statement he's going to talk about equal justice for minorities but he doesn't have much of a record in that space, neither good nor bad. what should we know about him? >> well, you know, i think that the experience that he has had taking on white supremacy really is the same kind of value that he's going to put out into the world. he understood that -- what a threat that was and how, you know, these values really can be brought back to life and constantly perfected. you know, he always said to us the core of who we are is that we treat like cases alike. that's really who he is. >> tali, we have to leave it the

you see judge merrick garland. he is president biden's choice for attorney general for the united states. the judicial committee going through a two-day hearing. a number of interesting topics about that. we'll take to you the white house in a few moments. the president about to announce some changes to a very important covid relief program, the so-called ppp program. a lot of money is going to big businesses and not mom and pop businesses. also on this busy news day, a former setback on the supreme court. donald trump must turn over to manhattan prosecutors in new york his tax records. his tax records part of the investigation there. lots to cover in the hour ahead. let's begin with what we were listening to. a very important confirmation hearing for the man who will become the next top law official. judge merrick garland, the last 22 years an appeals court here in washington. pledging that priority 1 would be to put behind bars those found responsible for the capitol insurrection back on january 6th. with us to s

we are getting a look at what merrick garland will say when he goes before the senate. >>> a new studyinds people of color hugely underrepresented in the u.s. vaccine trials. what is being done to close the gap coming up. if you have obstructive sleep apneand you're often tired during the day, you could be missing out on amazing things. sunosi can help you stay awake for them. once daily sunosi improves wakefulness in adults with excessive daytime sleepiness due to obstructive sleep apnea. sunosi worked for up to nine hours at 12 weeks in a clinical study. sunosi does not treat the cause of osa or take the place of your cpap. continue to use any treatments or devices as prescribed by your doctor. don't take sunosi if you've taken an maoi in the last 14 days. sunosi may increase blood pressure and heart rate, which can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or death. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure. sunosi can cause symptoms such as anxiety, problems sleeping, irritability, and agitation. other common side effects include headach

there are also confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee merrick garland. those begin today. but all of this as the u.s. is on the brink of surpassing 500,000 deaths from coronavirus. a sobering milestone. one president biden is expected to honor tonight, honoring those lives that have been lost. let's begin our coverage this morning with cnn's dan simon who is live at denver international airport with the latest on the fallout from the united airlines flight 328. dan, good morning. >> good morning, erica. in the wake of this very frightening, uncontained engine failure, regulators really have two goals here, to figure out exactly how this happened and to prevent it from happening again. after united airlines flight 328 experienced engine failure shortly after takeoff saturday, the company is temporarily removing all 24 of its boeing 777 airport with pratt & whitney pw-47 engines from service out of an abundance of service. >> just experienced an engine failure and need to return immediately. >> a united pilot making a mayday call on the flight headed from

i think everything changed today forrl merrick garland. i think most people had gone into this thinking, you know we voted for him in the past for judgeship. but when he was grilled to be the attorney general, i think he made some missteps and gave us insight to how he would decide on issues, i think that creates a lot of uncomfortableness for g.o.p. senators. elizabeth: the republican senators would agree with you, fell he was putting space in between. what they want or -- really you have to get to the bottom. drilled down to d what happened. watch dogs justice department found 17 eomissions and misleadings and violations. you know, i would like you to listen to senator grassley. you are right, rick, he was explicit and also wondering, are you going to make the durham probe public. >> i don't want is a return to the obama years, i don't want an attorney general who bragged about being a wingman and those were his words to the president. that was arrogant. -- eric holder, describing himself. i don't want a justice department that abuses fi

you see a masked judge merrick garland leaving the hearing room. coming four years after a republican majority denied him a hearing before the same committee as a nominee to the supreme court. we have heard judge garland suppress the importance of the independence of the justice department. he said the political climate, worse than in oklahoma city at the time of the bombing that killed 168 people back in 1995. it's a case that garland knows well. it's a case that he oversaw. we are following that. we will continue to follow that. we will take you back when the break is over. breaking news from the supreme court. the high court just dealt former president trump quite the decisive defeat. he lost his legal fight to keep his personal and corporate tax returns out of the hands of a new york grand jury. mr. trump now out of legal options. he will have to comply with the subpoena. more on that momentarily. we will start with our team. jeff bennett, garrett haake outside the hearing room there at the capitol. garrett, we will start with you. we are a coup

. >>> you're watching the merrick garland hearing before the senate judiciary committee. at any moment, president biden will be delivering his reforms for the covid small business loans. i'm andrea mitchell in washington, and we will continue with the merrick garland hearing until the president arrives, and then we will bring that to you live. >>> in the bush administration, the last bush administration, they put a moratorium in certain cases for that, and that moratorium lasted or did last from 2003 during the bush administration and then suddenly in the last six months, the justice department under the last president rushed to execute more people -- and this is what's stunning -- in six months had been executed in the past 60 years. many of us feel that was nothing short of being a killing spree. it worries me because we know the disproportionate deaths by minorities and the poor. i prosecuted many death cases. i was a proponent of the death penalty but certainly would rather have someone sitting in a prison cell thinking about what they did wrong. i'm joining with sena

because you have these republicans, and merrick garland, all of the republicans pushing him and merrick garland promising to keep politics out of the justice department. there are a lot of different ways that politics could seep in. but one of the unspoken explanations and definitions that these republicans are using is, don't use the justice department to go after donald trump or people around him. and democrats are pushing a little bit. you heard sheldon whitehouse say that he wants the -- judge garland, if he gets confirmed to look up stream and pursue and he said i would pursue wherever it takes us. but it is a reminder that while you have this going on, the real action is going on at the state level. this is about his personal business affairs and it is something that he's been -- the former president has been fighting for quite sometime. but then separate from that, you have something in georgia that has to do with his conduct while he was president and that has to do with the phone call to pressure georgia election officials. so you have a lot of focus understandably on the justi

when the domestic terrorist timothy mcveigh was executed for his crimes, we had merrick garland to thank for that successful prosecution. no one doubts that judge garland is qualified for his job, but, of course, attorney general is more than just qualifications. the top law enforcement officer of the united states must be committed to enforcing the rule of law, as our former colleague and former attorney general john ashcroft likes to say, the department of justice is the only cabinet agency whose name is an ideal. it is not the department of law enforcement, but the department of justice. justice is equality under the law. there's one law for all americans regardless of race, color, creed, or connection. is judge garland up to that task? i think he is, but today, our goal is to ask him questions to find out. the department of justice has taken important steps to live up to these ideals expressed by attorney general ashcroft and i think they have done well in that direction, particularly over the last four years. the department has undertaken many successful initiatives to reduce violen

when the domestic terrorist timothy mcveigh was executed for his crimes, we had merrick garland to thank for that successful prosecution. no one doubts that judge garland is qualified for his job, but, of course, attorney general is more than just qualifications. the top law enforcement officer of the united states must be committed to enforcing the rule of law, as our former colleague and former attorney general john ashcroft likes to say, the department of justice is the only cabinet agency whose name is an ideal. it is not the department of law enforcement, but the department of justice. justice is equality under the law. there's one law for all americans regardless of race, color, creed, or connection. is judge garland up to that task? i think he is, but today, our goal is to ask him questions to find out. the department of justice has taken important steps to live up to these ideals expressed by attorney general ashcroft and i think they have done well in that direction, particularly over the last four years. the department has undertaken many successful initiatives to reduce violen

not just about merrick garland but why they are leaders, right? and you see them really try to use this moment in the spotlight. but merrick garland stole the show when he started to cry about how his family said they were refugees and they came to this country. this was the american dream, him becoming attorney general. i think it would be really hard for moderate republicans to not vote in support of the attorney general. he made not only a strong case but a compelling case that i think would be politically strong. >> one of the more notable moments throughout the early moments of the confirmation hearing. jeff, let's talk about someone who is having a bit of a challenge. senators manchin, collins and romney all say they will vote no on her confirmation to head the white house budget office. is the white house convinced there is at least one or maybe two republican votes to be found to save the nomination? >> i tell you what. that is what they are signaling publicly but they can do the math just like the rest of us. and evenly split 50/50 senate

even today, republican senator mike lee tried to probe attorney general nominee merrick garland about thoughts on purging the rolls, a question that garland brushed aside. >> do you believe efforts to purge voter roles of individuals who have either died or have left the state in question or to require voter identification are racially discriminatory and an assault on voting rights? >> this is one i can't answer yes or no because you're asking about a motivations of individuals. some of whom may have discriminatory purpose. >> yeah. is it wrong to keep them off the voter rolls? yeah, it depends on why you're doing it. in the aftermath of donald trump's loss, he's a loser, he is a one term president. it doesn't happen often in american life, it happens when you get turfed out by people who don't like you. they have a choice in the aftermath of that. you can try to change your message so that you win elections, change your message, policies, try to appeal to become a 55% coalition. that's one option. or do whatever possible to deconstruct american democracy such that they can rule from

merrick garland, president biden's pick for attorney general, making it clear that a justice departmentruns would be different. >> i'm not the president's lawyer. i am the united states' lawyer. >> reporter: garland pledged an independent doj, one that would follow the rule of law and pursue prosecutions aimed at confronts america's biggest problem. >> if confirmed, i will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the capitol an january 6th, a heinous attack that sought to corrupt a corner stone of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government. >> reporter: garland, a federal judge, said the investigation into the january 6th insurrection will be a massive job and his top priority. >> i think this was the most heinous attack on the democratic process that i've ever seen, and one that i never expected to see in my lifetime. one of the very first things i'll do is get a briefing on the progress of this investigation. i intend to give the career prosecutors who are working on this matter 24/7 all of the resources they could possibl

what do you think the doj is going to look like under merrick garland?ink he is going to spend every day working to do right by the law and to bring honor to the department and to restore the honor that is the department that was his experience from being a line prosecutor all the way on up to senior levels. one of the things he said right at the very top of his statement was that he is not there to serve an individual, he's there to serve the american people. so that was his message from the very beginning of his opening. he made clear that he is going to prosecute the january 6th insurrection to the full extent of the law, and he has long experience in prosecuting incidents of domestic terrorism. the other area that i thought he focused so much on is the civil rights area, that so much of the department's work is going to be focused on the issue of civil rights. >> yeah. very interesting. gloria borger, carrie cordero, thank you so much to both of you. >>> next, airlines grounding dozens of boeing jets after that horrifying incident on a united flight

>> you have to call merrick garland the most patient man in washington. he's finally getting his hearing. there's no question at this stage of our politics that the role of the attorney general or the position is viewed as through the most political lens of any cabinet appointee in any president's administration. president trump made that office quite political. his ags were with him or against him. we saw he got rid of jeff sessions with due haste when jeff sessions wouldn't go along and help trump during the russia probe. he stepped aside. the most recent ag, bill barr, carried out a lot of political favors for president trump. joe biden has insisted his attorney general will be very independent. it's not going be a political job. it will be a job on behalf of the american people. there's a lot of political stuff sitting on the desk of whomever takes this job next. you have the big looming question which i think we will hear a lot about whether or not merrick garland intends to have the justice department go after president trump for his instigation of

donald trump and try to use that as a weapon against merrick garland's confirmation. on the senate floor on saturday, mitch mcconnell took that weapon out of lindsey graham's hands. lindsey graham might still try to use it, but now it will have no effect in the senate. the most that fair-minded evaluators of the evidence could hope for at the beginning of the senate trial was a majority vote of guilty. 51 votes for guilty would have been bipartisan and it would have been the highest number of guilty votes in the history of presidential impeachment trial. the house managers got 57 guilty votes including 2 guilty votes from 2 republican senators who had earlier voted against even having the trial. at this hour on friday night, we were delivering the breaking news that congresswoman jaime herrera beutler released a statement quoting what donald trump said to house republican leader kevin mccarthy while the invasion of the capitol was going on. kevin mccarthy told congresswoman herrera beutler that he called donald trump trying to get donald trump to help save the capitol

confirmation hearings will begin soon for attorney general nominee merrick garland.e have a preview, next. (vo) last year subaru and our retailers donated 50 million meals to feeding america. and yet, one in four children may still face hunger. so, subaru and our retailers are doing it again, donating an additional 100 million meals to help those in need. love. it's never been needed more than right now. subaru. more than a car company. (vo 2) to join us with a donation, go to subaru.com. wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. >>> tlarngt, the confirmation hearing begins for judge merrick garland, president obama's nom nominee for attorney general. >> our law is not the instrument of partisan purpose. >> judge merrick garland guaranteed impartiality when he accepted the nomination for attorney general one day a

after being denied a confirmation hearing for his nomination to the supreme court in 2016, judge merrick garland yesterday finally appeared before the senate judiciary committee, this time as nominee for attorney general. garland was pressed on a number of issues from civil rights to gun reform but said that his first order of business would be investigationed into the january 6th attack on the capitol and taking on domestic terrorism. >> my first priority will be to have a briefing on where we are, if i'm confirmed, with the investigations, which from the outside appear quite vigorous and nationwide, and to find out what additional resources we need. but that is just a focus on what happened in the capitol. we also have to have a focus on what is happening all over the country and on where this could spread and where this came from. >> let me ask you about assaults on federal property in places other than washington, d.c. -- portland, for instance, seattle. do you regard assaults on federal courthouses or other federal property as acts of domestic extremism, domestic terrorism? >> well, senator

host: merrick garland from yesterday's confirmation hearing. e hill newspaper frames is hearing this way. garland seeks to drop sharp contrast with trump era doj. your priorities for the presidents attorney general. ray in massachusetts, did you watch? caller: i did. host: what did you think of his answers? caller: i want to see what mitch mcconnell -- when he questions the judge. when he held back one of the senate seats that should've been obama, they weren't in it -- they were gone to save it for donald trump. the coward donald trump would kill -- i want to hear his desk him speak with the judge and get his opinion after that. josh hawley, he should be in jail. all of those republicans for overrunning this country. host: stephen in sarasota, florida. democratic caller. caller: thank you. first of all i love the fact see spanish so neutral. i don't see a bias, i see a videotape of everyone's conversation. my wife is pro-democrat and i'm pro republican. i dared her and myself, we watched both sides of the programs. and we decided during this ti

but what are you looking for from merrick garland at this hearing?ow, clearly, white supremacy and figuring out how to deal with that extremist threat is going to be very important going forward. what do you have your ear on? >> i mean, i want to hear how he's going to talk about his judicial independence, right, his independence from president biden, the kinds of things that we're expecting republicans to ask questions on, right? because this is something that will be a different probably setup than what we were used to over the last four years, right? president trump kind of -- he was criticized and saw the justice department and his a.g. as someone in a group who should be protecting him in a lot of different ways, and that is not how joe biden has talked about that, so we're expecting to hear questions about that, how he would separate himself, and also, you know, there are calls and have been calls for years at this point to investigate president trump. and after january 6th, those calls have continued. former president trump. and so, how does m

is merrick garland there.rt and james comey. here is how merrick garland answered that exchange a moment ago. >> do you believe the durham investigation is a legitimate investigation? >> senator, i don't know anything really about the investigation. >> do you think somebody should look at what happened with the fisa report? >> i think somebody should look at what happened with respect to the fisa and the attorney general has done that. >> based on your review of the horowitz report do you think jim comey was a good f.b.i. director? >> senator, i really don't want to get into analyzing any of the previous directors. >> political and appropriately so at times. i find it stunning you can't say in my view that he was a terrible f.b.i. director. >> bill: wanted to share that with you. that hearing continues on capitol hill. >> dana: it will go on for a few more hours and more question equality and equity in terms of how the language in the policies are changing now at the justice department. >> bill: stand by for m

so merrick garland today, i find this pretty interesting. simple question and we have an email, james comey to james clapper. you know what the email says. you even got james comey, mccabe, yates admitting what they know now they would not sign the size of warrants. when a the second renewal before he signed the second renewal or the third one that he said he couldn't verify the dossier which was the bulk of information, the testimony was given to your committee appear they would not have gotten to fisa warrant. merrick garland didn't have an opinion about lying to a fisa court knowing it says at the top of a fisa application verified and it was unverifiable and now debunked? >> he read the horowitz report review of it from a summary of it and said it was bad and should never happen again. somebody like kleinsmith altered documents on his watch they would pay a heavy price. i'm confident that durham will be allowed to do his job. if durham is stopped from doing an investigation, crossfire hurricane, that will pull up in their face. that woul

shannon: merrick garland with new insights into the biden administration and he is in the first to face questions over the press of a grand gender of this white house, josh halley asking if he used last summer's riots as attacks on federal facilities as acts of the mystic extremism or domestic terrorism. a distinction between those attacks and what happened to the us s month primarily because of the time of day that they happened. >> attack on a courthouse while in operation, trying to prevent judges from deciding cases, that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism. undertake simply on government property at night or those circumstances a clear crime and is serious when it should be punished. i don't know enough about the facts that you are talking about but that is where i draw the line. both are criminal. one is a core attack on our democratic institutions. shannon: with his critics says judge garland knows federal judges in the first were quality should cleanup that statement. present biden's nominee for interior secretary and after initial vetting congresswoman holland is

judge merrick garland is getting his hearing. president biden's nominee for attorney general denied such a hearing when president obama nominated for him for the supreme court. is testifying on the first of two days of confirmation hearings before the senate judiciary committee. judge garland has assured senators that he will lead an independent justice department as the people's lawyer, not the president's. garland asserted his first priority is to prosecute those involved in the january 6th insurrection at the u.s. capitol. the nominee is getting praise from democrats and republicans. evan perez has following this. it's a key position in any administration, but given the politicizing of the doj that trump did, people are really talking to him about what he is going to do. >> yeah. that was one of the -- that was a question we heard from republicans, which is, how do you restore the justice department to make sure it is not political? i'm not sure that is what they were going after. that is an important theme of what merrick gar

because merrick garland is known by all accounts well respected on both sides of the aisle.process, when joe biden announced that he would nominate merrick garland during the transition, one of the people that spoke out that said he would be ilg -- willing to consider him was lindsey graham, as staufnch of a republican as you could get and not wanting to take it up before impeachment and so we're well into february before this part of the process. but this is someone who spent his time staying out of the political fray. but he will be dragged right back into it today during this hearing. i think you'll see a lot of republicans trying to bring up some really thorny legal issues to try to box him in, find out where he stands with them and how he deals with that kind of intense political pressure, very different from a supreme court nominee is the thing to watch today. >> he'll face a lot of tough questions, but he made sure to point out in his opening remarks and i think it will be a focus, domestic extremism. you could speak, you worote wel in this piece over the weekend, the

attorney general merrick garland faces his confirmation hearing he was denied the opportunity to join the supreme court by republicans in 2016. and thousands join a nationwide strike across neon maad despite a chilling message from the military confrontation that cost more lives. italy's president has denounced what he calls a cowardly attack on the italian ambassador to democratic republic of congo who was killed after traveling in a u.n. convoy. died along with a bodyguard and a driver following an ambush in national park in the east no group has yet came responsibility but dozens of armed groups operate in that area and paulk ranges have repeatedly been targeted while i do not. i was traveling in a wild food program convoy when they were ambushed in a statement the world food program expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the family colleagues of the 3 and friends of the 3 people killed in an attack on that delegation traveling on a field visit in the east of the day yassine the attack which occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security

supreme court, merrick garland finally got his senate confirmation hearing for attorney general. confirmed, garland will over hundreds charged in the capitol attack. >> this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes i've ever seen. >> reporter: he'd take over a department beset with low morale and under fire from democrats and the trump administration and republicans for its investigation of the trump administration. >> you do not view your role as attorney general as being joe biden's role? >> i am not the president's lawyer. i am the united states lawyer. >> reporter: after a summer of social unrest, followinghe kiof grgfld a white police officer, garland said civil rights enforcement will be a priority. >> there's no question there's disparate treatment in our justice system. >> reporter: when speaking of his immigrant grandparents, who fled the persecution of jews abroad, garland choked up. >> i feel an obligation to the country to pay back. this is the highest best use of my own set of skills to pay back. >> reporter: president obama tapped him for the supreme

i know you say we don't know what merrick garland will do. but it's biden's doj i say that in the sense of wherever the facts lead you there is the political question that's put out there, right? >> so does what mcconnell said give cover to merrick garland, the biden doj to go after trump at all? >> yeah, that's a good question. i think that the play tonic ideal for an attorney general and department of justice is that in the same way you don't make decisions based on what the president says even if it's the president who appointed you. and in the same way you don't pay attention to political winds. you do what is proper, right and just under the facts. you don't take into consideration the fact that a senate majority leader for whatever reason he chose to make those statements, notwithstanding his vote in the other direction, you don't take those into account. will it make it easier if they choose to open an investigation? perhaps bring a prosecution? yes. but, you know, speaking of the ideal universe, you're not supposed to care what politi

attorney general merrick garland faces his confirmation hearing he was denied the opportunity for a supremes court seat by republicans back in 2016. if lee's president has denounced what he calls a cowardly attack on the italian ambassador to democratic republic of congo who was killed while traveling in a u.n. convoy look at an austere died along with a bodyguard and driver after an ambush. in the east no group has claimed responsibility but dozens of armed groups operate in that area and park rangers have. peaceably been targeted as an aussie was travelling in a wild food program convoy when they were ambushed in a statement the w.f. expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the family colleagues and friends of the 3 people killed today in an attack on a delegation travelling on a field visit in the east of the day aussie the attack which occurred on a road that had previously been cleared for travel without security escorts if he is foreign minister luigi dimaio has promised to find those responsible for this attack or pin the appraisal the full our closeness and our thoughts go 1

john cornyn and another one says they will vote for merrick garland. his top priority assuming he's concerned will be investigating what happened in that january 6 riot, how far up it went, who was involved. he said he would get briefed on that immediately. he also made clear that he would look into some key issues that even republicans pressed him on and said that he would get a clearer sense on how to proceed once he becomes attorney general, assuming he's confirmed. take a listen. >> i think this was the most heinous attack on the democratic processes that i've ever seen and one that i never expected to see in my lifetime. one of the very first things i will do is get a briefing on the progress of this investigation. i intend to give the career prosecutors who are working on this matter 24/7 all the resources they could possibly require. i am not the president's lawyer. i am the united states' lawyer, and i will do everything in my power, which i believe is considerable, to not make any of this political in any way. >> that a key theme throughout th

merrick garland is going to have to sort that out. the solution to that cannot be don't do it again. the solution to that has to be accountability for those who abused the justice department and the justice process in ways that were designed to shield the president from accountability, if that is, in fact, what happened there. but what's happened here, what the supreme court set in motion today is something that does not involve federal prosecutors in that whole sdny mess. these are state prosecutors, and their case is moving forward and there really is now, as the "times" puts it today, the startling prospect of a criminal trial of a former u.s. president. we, the public, will not get to see these millions of pages that are getting handed over now. we won't see them unless and until there are criminal charges filed in this case and they surface as evidence in that case. the closest we can get now is maybe to talk to the reporters for "the new york times" who have, themselves, seen more information like this than any other civilian we

merrick garland is no longer one of them.is expected to be confirmed, as the next-attorney general, in very-short order. >> ryan nobles, thanks very much. >>> so perhaps, the most poignant moment of the day. judge garland's response to a question about how his own, painful, family history informed his career and prosecuting injustice intolerance. >> i come from a family, where my grandparents fled anti-semitism and persecution. the country took us in. and protected us. and i feel an obligation to the country to pay back, and this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back. and so, i want, very much, to be the kind of attorney -- attorney general that you're saying i could become. and i'll do my best to try and be that kind of attorney general. >> i believe your heart. >> what a moment. perspective, now, from cnn chief national correspondent, john king. and cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger. gloria, i mean, the emotion in that moment was -- was palpable. i mean, you could sense the room stood still i

merrick garland apparently does not.ch means he is a better person than i am on that scale and many others. but in a sort of twist of fate, the news gods gave us a confluence of events today that you've got to feel like they've been cooking up for some time with a little bit of a smirk perhaps, because while judge garland was having his confirmation hearing today, not for the supreme court because republicans held a seat open for a year instead of allowing him to be considered for that, today while he was not being considered for the supreme court but instead was considered to lead the u.s. justice department, it actually was the supreme court that made news big enough to justify news organizations breaking into the confirmation hearings for the next attorney general of the united states. and the news was, in fact, big enough to justify that. as "the new york times" put it in their coverage of the story today, quote, the supreme court's order set in motion a series of events that could lead to the startling possibility o

so let's discuss the situation with merrick garland. he was asked today.. >> thank you, shannon. >> shannon: are you confident from what you heard from the nominee that any investigation regarding hunter biden will be transparent and we'll get the results if there are some? >> we would hope and expect nothing less from the department of justice. they're our nation's largest law firm and have a significant part of the u.s. government. there were a number of things that he didn't say today that i would like to have heard. i would have liked to have heard more self-examination and internal reflection with regard to some of the biden nominees that have been named to important positions within the department of justice. we've got two nominees, one who has been nominated for the associate attorney general and one nominated to the position of an assistant attorney general over the civil rights division that made crazy comments. comments that would if they had been made by a republican nominee result in no chance of them being confirmed. i was disappointed that ju

now on to the man biden would lead his doj, attorney general merrick garland. judge garland appeared before the senate where he classified the capitol rioters as domestic terrorists but carefully dismissed antifa. >> an attack on a courthouse while in operation, trying to prevent judges from deciding cases, that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism. an attack simply on a government property at night or any other kind of circumstances is a clear crime. that's where i draw the line. is that joining me now, congressman devin nunez. congressman, this is frightening. it depends what time of day you're attacking people or property to be branded a domestic terrorist. people thought he would be a judicial moderate if he went to the supreme court. >> that was my first thought. thanks god he didn't make to it the supreme court. it's rather ironic that they would puck out of the chute to be the guy that becomes the next head of the department of justice with so many things that are out there from hunter biden to the durham investigation to all of the problems