司法部长梅里克·加兰(Merrick Garland)周三在众议院司法委员会(House Judiciary Committee)作证。在大约五个小时的高风险听证会上，共和党议员严厉批评了他所在部门对前总统刑事调查的处理唐纳德·特朗普总统乔·拜登的儿子亨特·拜登，1月6日的事件和其他高调的调查。
俄亥俄州共和党主席吉姆·乔丹(Jim Jordan)在宣布听证会开始时说，“问题已经解决了。”。"尽管上周亨特·拜登受到了保全面子的起诉，但所有人都知道问题已经解决。"
乔丹几次指责加兰为了拜登总统的利益而“慢行”亨特·拜登的调查。
但加兰在开场发言中直面对他任期的批评，认为在对公务员的威胁不断上升的时候，一些共和党人针对职业官员的努力是“危险的”。
“我们不会被吓倒，”加兰说。“我们将在不受外界干扰的情况下开展工作。我们不会放弃捍卫我们的民主。”
2023年9月20日，美国司法部长梅里克·加兰在华盛顿国会山举行的众议院司法委员会听证会上就“美国司法部的监督”作证。
Evelyn Hockstein/路透社
特朗普调查
这是加兰担任特别法律顾问以来第一次面对议员杰克·史密斯起诉了川普因为他在离开白宫后对机密文件的处理以及他为推翻2020年大选所做的努力。
该委员会的民主党高级成员杰里·纳德勒(Jerry Nadler)在开幕词中反驳说，“极端的共和党人毒害了我们至关重要的监督工作”，以转移对前总统面临的法律问题的注意力。
加兰周三表示，在被问及前总统拜登上周末指示司法部长采取行动的言论后，他没有接到指控特朗普的指示。
“没有人告诉我起诉，”加兰说，“在这种情况下，起诉的决定是由特别顾问做出的。”
特朗普否认对他的所有指控，并否认有任何不当行为。
亨特·拜登和拜登总统的调查
加兰的证词是在同样由加兰任命的特别顾问魏红星，以持枪重罪起诉亨特·拜登韦斯和亨特·拜登的律师达成认罪协议后，于7月份在法庭上告吹。
加兰被问了很多关于亨特·拜登调查时间表的问题。在一次交流中，众议员乔丹对亨特·拜登和布里斯马提出了几项指控，指责DOJ让检察官“慢走”调查。布里斯马是乌克兰天然气公司，亨特·拜登是该公司的董事会成员。
司法部长强调，他给了韦斯权力和独立性，以他认为合适的方式提起诉讼。
“还有一个重要的事实，那就是这项调查是由特朗普总统任命的韦斯先生进行的，”加兰回应道。“在适当的时候，你将有机会向韦斯先生提出这个问题，毫无疑问，他将在提交给国会的公开报告中提出这个问题。”
加兰还反驳了共和党人的说法，即司法部正在寻求在2024年大选前向民主党倾斜政治天平-并强烈否认他在任何刑事调查方面接受了拜登总统或白宫的任何指示。
加兰说:“我们的工作不是接受总统、国会或其他任何人的命令，决定对谁或什么进行刑事调查。”。“正如总统本人所说，我今天重申:我不是总统的律师。我要补充一点，我不是国会的检察官。司法部为美国人民服务。我们的工作是遵循事实和法律，这就是我们所做的。”
包括乔丹在内的该委员会的几位共和党人此前曾威胁要对加兰启动弹劾程序，原因是司法部对亨特·拜登刑事调查的处理方式。
乔丹引用了美国国税局举报者在国会的证词，这些举报者声称总统的儿子从调查人员那里获得了优惠待遇，加兰过去在国会的证词声称韦斯获得了做出指控决定的最终权力是不准确的。
加兰和韦斯在给国会的信中，对举报者的说法提出了质疑。
加兰辩称，他对所有三名特别顾问的任命代表了一种承诺，即确保他们每一项调查的完整性和独立性，并在回答共和党人的问题时重复了这一说法，共和党人试图将他们描述为司法部政治化的证据。
加兰说:“我们的工作是追求正义，没有恐惧或偏袒。”“我们的工作不是做政治上方便的事情。”
加兰任命的第三名特别顾问罗伯特·胡尔(Robert Hur)继续调查在拜登总统位于特拉华州的家中以及华盛顿一个副总统后智库发现的带有机密标记的文件。
亨特·拜登还没有提出抗辩，尽管他的律师已经表示他们将对上周提出的指控进行抗辩。拜登总统否认在处理机密材料时有不当行为，并发誓要全力配合特别检察官Hur的调查。
白宫发言人伊恩·萨姆斯(Ian Sams)称听证会是“分散注意力”，并表示众议院共和党人“制造了一场充满谎言和虚假信息的听证会，唯一的目标是毫无根据地攻击拜登总统及其家人。”
202年9月20日，美国司法部长梅里克·加兰在国会山举行的众议院司法委员会听证会上就“美国司法部的监督”作证前，代表效忠宣誓...显示更多undefined
Evelyn Hockstein/路透社
关于天主教备忘录的激烈争论
在一次特别激烈的交流中，加兰和新泽西州共和党众议员杰夫·范·德鲁(Jeff Van Drew)就联邦调查局里士满办事处的一名分析师写的一份备忘录发生了冲突，该备忘录涉及该局内部的“激进传统”天主教徒。联邦调查局局长克里斯托弗·雷和加兰都立即召回了这份文件，称其不代表该部门对天主教徒的感情。
加兰拒绝回答范·德鲁关于备忘录的问题，不时提高嗓门。
加兰说:“有我这样家庭背景的人会歧视任何宗教的想法让我们感到愤怒，这种想法太荒谬了。”。在周三的开场陈述中，加兰哽咽地讲述了他的家庭如何逃离东欧的宗教迫害，以及为什么这影响了他作为一名公务员的工作。
呼吁解除联邦调查局的资金
该委员会的民主党人向加兰询问了对联邦特工的威胁以及一些共和党议员和总统候选人要求撤销联邦调查局资金的影响。
“撤销对联邦调查局的资助将使美国暴露在中国共产党的邪恶影响之下，暴露在伊朗人对美国公民的袭击和暗杀前官员的企图之下，暴露在俄罗斯的侵略之下，暴露在朝鲜的网络攻击之下，暴露在联邦调查局帮助打击的美国暴力犯罪之下，暴露在各种间谍活动之下，暴露在袭击我们的教堂、犹太教堂和清真寺的国内暴力极端分子之下，暴露在出于种族仇恨杀害个人的行为之下，”他说。"我无法想象撤销联邦调查局资金的后果，但这将是灾难性的."
1月6日和雷·埃普斯的冲锋
共和党众议员维多利亚·斯帕兹。，说很多美国人“害怕”被该部门起诉。
“当人们害怕自己的政府时，这是一个大问题，”她说。
她说，虽然“可能”有一些人在2021年1月6日带着“不良意图”来到华盛顿，但也有“许多善良的美国人”，“厌倦了这个政府不为他们服务”——包括她的选区中的一些人。
“他们带着婴儿车和孩子来了，因为没有提供适当的安全措施，所以出现了混乱的局面，”Spartz说。
共和党众议员托马斯·马西。，问加兰DOJ周二宣布对雷·艾普斯的轻罪指控。Epps，前誓言守护者，在1月6日左右成为阴谋论的主题，包括共和党人声称他是一名秘密的联邦特工。与其他因参与国会大厦袭击而被起诉的人相比，马西称埃普斯的指控是一个“笑话”，并问加兰那天有多少政府资产在场。
“在1月6日提交的案件中，司法部检察官提供了他们所掌握的关于你所问问题的任何信息，”加兰回应道，此前他表示自己对联邦特工是否在人群中的问题一无所知。“关于艾普斯先生，联邦调查局说他不是联邦调查局的雇员或线人。”
Garland grilled by House Republicans on Hunter Biden, Trump investigations
Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday in a roughly five-hour high-stakes hearing where Republican lawmakers lambasted him over his department's handling of criminal probes into former PresidentDonald Trump, President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, the events of Jan. 6 and other high-profile investigations.
"The fix is in," chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said as he kicked the hearing off. "Even with the face-saving indictment of Hunter Biden last week, everyone knows the fix is in."
Jordan accused Garland several times of "slow walking" the Hunter Biden investigation to benefit President Biden.
But Garland, in his opening statement, took criticism of his tenure head-on -- arguing that some Republicans' efforts to target career officials is "dangerous" at a time when threats against public servants are on the rise.
"We will not be intimidated," Garland said. "We will do our jobs free from outside interference. And we will not back down from defending our democracy."
Trump investigations
The appearance is Garland's first time sitting before lawmakers since special counselJack Smith indicted Trumpfor both his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Democratic ranking member of the committee, in his opening statement countered "extreme MAGA Republicans have poisoned our vital oversight work" in an effort to distract from the legal troubles the former president is facing.
Garland said Wednesday he wasn't instructed to charge Trump after being pressed on the former president's comments this past weekend that Biden directed the attorney general to act.
"No one has told me to indict," Garland said, "and in this case, the decision to indict was made by the special counsel."
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and has denied any wrongdoing.
Hunter Biden and President Biden investigations
Garland's testimony comes nearly a week after special counsel David Weiss, also appointed by Garland,indicted Hunter Biden on felony gun chargesafter a plea deal between Weiss and Hunter Biden's lawyers fell apart in court in July.
Garland was peppered with questions about the timeline of the Hunter Biden investigation. In one exchange, Rep. Jordan levied several allegations about Hunter Biden and Burisma -- the Ukrainian gas company on which Hunter Biden was a board member, accusing the DOJ of letting prosecutors "slow walk" the probe.
The attorney general emphasized he gave Weiss authority and independence to bring the case as he saw fit.
"One more fact that is important, and that is that this investigation is being conducted by Mr. Weiss, an appointee of President Trump," Garland responded. "You will, at the appropriate time, have the opportunity to ask Mr. Weiss that question and he will no doubt address it in the public report that will be transmitted to the Congress."
Garland also pushed back against Republicans' claims that the Justice Department is seeking to tilt political scales in Democrats' favor leading up to the 2024 election -- and vehemently denied he has taken any directives from President Biden or the White House with respect to any criminal investigation.
"Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate," Garland said. "As the president himself has said, and I reaffirm today: I am not the president's lawyer. I will add that I am not Congress's prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law, and that is what we do."
Several Republicans on the committee, including Jordan, have previously threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against Garland over the department's handling of the criminal probe into Hunter Biden.
Jordan has cited testimony before Congress from IRS whistleblowers who have claimed the president's son received preferential treatment from investigators, and that Garland's past testimony before Congress claiming Weiss was given ultimate authority to make charging decisions was inaccurate.
Both Garland and Weiss, in letters to Congress, have disputed the whistleblower's claims.
Garland has argued his appointments of all three special counsels represents a commitment to ensure the integrity and independence of each of their investigations, and repeated that assertion in fielding questions from Republicans who have sought to portray them as evidence of politicization by the Justice Department.
"Our job is to pursue justice, without fear or favor," Garland said. "Our job is not to do what is politically convenient."
A third special counsel appointed by Garland, Robert Hur, continues to examine circumstances surrounding documents with classified markings that were found in President Biden's home in Delaware as well as a post-vice presidency think tank in Washington.
Hunter Biden has not yet entered a plea as part of his case, though his attorneys have said they will fight the charges brought last week. President Biden has denied wrongdoing in his handling of classified materials and vowed to fully cooperate with special counsel Hur's investigation.
White House spokesperson Ian Sams called the hearing a "distraction" and said House Republicans have "cranked up a circus of a hearing full of lies and disinformation with the sole goal of baselessly attacking President Biden and his family."
Fiery exchange over Catholic memo
In one particularly animated exchange, Garland and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., clashed over a memo written by an analyst in the FBI's Richmond field office about "radical traditional" Catholics within the bureau. Both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Garland both immediately recalled the document and called it not representative of the department's feelings on Catholics.
Garland pushed back on Van Drew's questions about the memo, at times raising his voice.
"The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outraged us is so absurd," Garland said. In his opening statement Wednesday, Garland got choked up as he spoke about his how his family fled religious persecution in Eastern Europe and why it influences his work as a public servant.
Calls to defund the FBI
Democrats on the committee asked Garland about the impact of threats to federal agents and calls from some Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates to defund the FBI.
"Defunding the FBI would leave the United States naked to the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party, to the attacks by Iranians on American citizens and attempts to assassinate former officials up to the Russian aggression, to North Korean cyber attacks, to violent crime in the United States, which the FBI helps to fight against, to all kinds of espionage, to domestic violent extremists who have attacked our churches, our synagogues, our mosques and who have killed individuals out of racial hatred," he said. "I cannot imagine the consequences of defunding the FBI, but they would be catastrophic."
Jan. 6 and Ray Epps' charge
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., said a lot of Americans are "afraid" of being prosecuted by the department.
"This is a big problem when people are afraid of their own government," she said.
She said that while there were "probably" some people who came to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, with "bad intent," there were "a lot of good Americans" who were "sick and tired of this government not serving them" -- including some in her district.
"They came with strollers and the kids, and there was a chaotic situation because the proper security wasn't provided," Spartz said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., questioned Garland on themisdemeanor charge against Ray Epps announced Tuesday by the DOJ. Epps, a former Oath Keeper, became the subject of conspiracy theories around Jan. 6 -- including Republican claims he was an undercover federal agent. Massie called Epps' charge a "joke" compared to others indicted for their participation in the Capitol attack, and asked Garland how many assets of the government were present on that day.
"In the cases that were filed with respect to Jan. 6, the Justice Department prosecutors provided whatever information they had about the question that you're asking," Garland responded, after stating he had no personal knowledge of the issue of whether federal agents were in the crowd. "With respect to Mr. Epps, the FBI has said that he was not an employee or informant of of the FBI."
