Fresh off of abandoning his constituents in Texas during a winter storm and freezing temperatures for the warm and sunny locale of Cancun, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made a fool of himself again on Monday.
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland fielded questions from lawmakers during a confirmation hearing at which Cruz accused the Justice Department under former President Barack Obama of being politically partisan and weaponized.
Cruz and other Republicans pushed the lie that Obama’s DOJ targeted disgraced former President Donald Trump among multiple other accusations that Garland did not entertain, pointing out that a DOJ investigation must have “evidence of the risk of a foreign intelligence problem or of a criminal problem” to proceed, which is exactly what the FBI had when it investigated the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016.
“That is a question of objective facts and law,” Garland continued. “And it can never be an effort to help one party or another party in politics, in investigations and prosecutions. There is no party. The department is an independent, nonpartisan actor, and that’s my job to ensure that that’s the case.”
Of course, the Russia investigation only hurt Trump because he committed multiple instances of obstruction of justice. Plus there was evidence that Trump’s campaign received assistance from Russia to win the 2016 Election.
But Cruz and Republicans ignored Trump’s DOJ, which was the epitome of politicization, partisanship, persecution, and weaponization. Trump even demanded the DOJ help him rig the 2020 Election in his favor, something former Attorney General Bill Barr refused to do, one of the few times he did not act as Trump’s loyal toady.
Speaking of Barr acting as Trump’s personal attorney, Cruz demanded to know if Garland would act as President Joe Biden’s personal lawyer. Because that’s all of a sudden a bad thing after years of Republicans not objecting to Barr’s subservience to Trump.
“Am I right in assuming you do not view your role as attorney general as being Joe Biden’s wingman?” Cruz asked.
“I do not regard myself as anything other than the lawyer for the people of the United States. I am not the president’s lawyer. I am the United States lawyer,” Garland replied.
Cruz concluded by appearing to set the stage for future Republican complaints about the DOJ, especially as the investigation into the Capitol insurrection continues.
“So it is very much my hope, if you’re confirmed as attorney general, that you will bring that reputation for integrity to the Department of Justice and demonstrate a willingness to stand up to what will be inevitable political pressure to once again politicize the Department of Justice and use it as a tool to attack the political opponents of the current administration,” he said.
Here’s the video via YouTube:
Republicans must be terrified of Garland. He intends to hold those responsible for the insurrection on January 6th accountable, regardless of how high up the chain the evidence leads. That’s not good for Cruz and several Republicans in Congress who aided or supported the attempted coup.
An investigation is not political simply because a Republican is a subject. If there is evidence of a crime to follow, a lawmaker should not be able to cry political persecution to get out of it. Garland is a respected former prosecutor who made a career bringing down white supremacists. If Republicans are so scared of the DOJ, that must mean there’s evidence that could result in their own downfall. And Garland should follow that evidence and act upon it.
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