And even though attorneys general aren’t supposed to be completely nonpartisan — JFK appointed his brother Robert as AG, after all — they are supposed to be ethical and committed to justice. Garland has shown himself to be neither and so doesn’t deserve that job either.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15–7 to advance Garland's nomination to the Senate floor, and on March 10, the Senate confirmed Garland's nomination by a vote of 70–30. He was sworn in on March 11, 2021, by Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus.
"When confirmed, Judge Garland must not back other constitutionally-corrosive efforts to effectively repeal laws just by ignoring them," said McConnell. Before becoming a judge, Garland served under President Bill Clinton's Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick and led the Justice Department investigation into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
McConnell said he voted to confirm Garland's nomination as attorney general "because of his long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert," calling his "left-of-center perspective" within "the legal mainstream."
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86th Attorney General of the United States on March 11, 2021. As the nation's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Garland leads the Justice Department's 115,000 employees, who work across the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, then appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.
Merrick GarlandUnited States / Attorney general
U.S. attorneys are appointed by the President of the United States for a term of four years, with appointments subject to confirmation by the Senate. A U.S. attorney continues in office, beyond the appointed term, until a successor is appointed and qualified.
state attorney generalToday, the title of state attorney general is synonymous with "chief legal adviser," "chief law enforcement officer," "chief prosecutor," and even, at times, "top cop." Nearly every state's attorney general serves as chief legal adviser for the state government and is empowered to prosecute violations of state law, ...
The Attorney General is the adviser to the Government on matters of law and legal opinion and attends Government meetings. They also represent the public in all legal proceedings that involve the enforcement of the law or the protection of public rights.
McConnell said he voted to confirm Garland's nomination as attorney general "because of his long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert," calling his "left-of-center perspective" within "the legal mainstream.".
Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked his nomination, claiming that the public should vote for the next president to decide the lifelong appointment. But in September 2020, then-President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Garland said last month that he had not spoken to the President about the case. Garland also could oversee the investigation of the FBI's Russia probe. But he said in his nomination hearing that he didn't have "any reason to think" that special counsel John Durham "should not remain in place.".
was guilty of criminal obstruction of justice in the Russia election interference probe. Garland has done this despite his promise to the Senate during his confirmation hearings that he would “ read the Freedom of Information Act generously .”.
In his statement to the Senate, Garland said: “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.”.
Once in federal court, Barr’s Justice Department moved to substitute the United States for Trump with the certainty that if the motion were granted, the government would claim that sovereign immunity prevented the action from going any further, and Ms. Carroll would be left without a remedy.
But Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe makes the important point that if we don’t enforce the rule of law, we ourselves become a banana republic. The rule of law is weakened if the public cannot believe in it. Chief Justice Marshall said over two centuries ago that we are a government of laws, not of men.
The excellent district judge denied the motion to substitute, and it was widely assumed that Garland would let the decision stand. Garland, however, in a move many legal observers found nothing short of astonishing, adopted Barr’s position and appealed the ruling.
It is up to a federal judge to determine whether or not the Attorney General's position in the Constitution one or not. Garland is attempting to uphold the law instead of bending it to address the political partisan desires resulting from the personal actions of a person who once held the position. see more.
Reading the tealeaves, Garland has taken an appeal from an order of Washington, D.C., District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in a Freedom of Information Act case, which would have unveiled a secret Justice Department memorandum from 2019, possibly revealing whether Justice lawyers had concluded that President Trump.