President Biden’s nominee for Attorney General, Merrick Garland, is signaling that the days of politicized Department of Justices are going to continue. While weighing in on threat of domestic terrorism in the United States, Garland clearly made a distinction between right-wing extremism and far-left extremism.
“I certainly agree that we are facing a more dangerous period than we did in Oklahoma City at that time,” Garland reacted to a question on the Capitol riots at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Merrick Garland, who was a principal associate deputy attorney general at the time, led the DOJ prosecution of the bomber Timothy McVeigh, who was connected to far-right groups. As reported by the Sentinel source, Garland’s experience prosecuting the Oklahoma City bombing case was highly relevant to his nomination for Attorney General.
Garland’s oversight of the bombing inquiry provides insights into how, as President Biden’s nominee to be the next attorney general, he would run the Justice Department, according to interviews with former prosecutors and agents, as well as a detailed oral history Garland provided in 2013 to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
Though the attack took place nearly 26 years ago, the former prosecutor’s experiences have become newly relevant as he seeks to lead the federal effort to hold accountable those responsible for the deadly siege last month of the U.S. Capitol and to prevent similar violence.
The January 6th capitol uprising was a pre-planned attack carried out by various extremist groups, including the far-right Proud Boys, the BLM-sympathizing anarchist group Boogaloo Bois, and even radical activists, like the Antifa-supporting founder of Insurrection USA John Sullivan.
When Senator Josh Hawley asked Garland about the Portland and Seattle riots, however, the former Supreme Court justice nominee Garland contorted to downplay the violent actions of the BLM and Antifa rioters:
“Let me ask you about assaults on federal property in places other than Washington, D.C., Portland, for instance, Seattle,” Hawley began. “Do you regard assaults on federal courthouses or other federal properties, acts of domestic extremism, domestic terrorism?”
“Well, senator, my own definition, which is about the same as the statutory definition is ‘the use of violence or threats of violence in attempt to disrupt democratic processes,'” he said.
“So, an attack on a courthouse while in operation, trying to prevent judges from actually deciding cases that plainly is domestic extremism, domestic terrorism,” he continued. “An attack simply on a government property at night or any other kind of circumstances is a clear crime and a serious one and should be punished. I don’t mean… I don’t know enough about the facts of the example you’re talking about, but that’s where I draw the line. One is… both are criminal, but one is a core attack on our democratic institutions.”
There you have it. Antifa and Black Lives Matter activists’ billions of dollars in destructive rioting, leading the deaths of at least nine innocent Americans, and hundreds of injuries, does not conflict with our core democratic processes, according to Garland. Therefore, it’s not “domestic terrorism.”
It should be noted that Garland’s answer is so narrow as to be an almost arbitrary definition. According to the FBI, domestic terrorism is comprised of “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”
Therefore, Antifa, radicalized Black Live Matters activists, and other left-wing ideologues who commit violent and destructive crimes in furtherance of their ideological goals is, by the FBI’s definition, “domestic terrorism.”
This is an agency that Garland would lead as Attorney General. The danger of Garland’s double standard was not lost on some political observers.
OANN’s Jack Posobiec weighed in on Twitter:
Merrick Garland completely disqualified himself.
Political violence on a government facility is terrorism regardless of what time of day it is.
He is downplaying left-wing violence because it's his side.
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 22, 2021
By Merrick Garland's new definition the Timothy McVeigh bombing wouldn't be domestic terrorism now, just a "clear serious crime"
Merrick Garland was on the prosecution of McVeigh and pushed for the death penalty, carried out in 2001
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 22, 2021
Merrick Garland had the chance to be a leader and say he would equally prosecute violence on both sides of the aisle
He chose to make up a double standard that has nothing to do with law
This is disqualifying and every Republican that votes for him is a joke
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 22, 2021
While Breitbart News editor Joel Pollak commented:
Merrick Garland, questioned by @HawleyMO, just tried to differentiate between the Capitol riot (“domestic terrorism”) and the attacks on the Portland courthouse (“extremism”) by saying one was during the day to disrupt a government function and one was at night 🧐 #GarlandHearing
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) February 22, 2021
“During the Obama-Biden administration we saw the Department of Justice politicized and weaponized,” Senator Ted Cruz commented. “I hope we won’t see that repeated if Merrick Garland is confirmed.”
The best way for the Senate to keep that from happening is not to confirm Merrick Garland in the first place.
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OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion.