Welcome to the hearing on Oversight Department of justice. Chair recognizes the gentleman from california to lead us in the pledge. Please stand. Please face whichever flag is most appropriate for your direction. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god with liberty and justice for all. Chernow recognizes himself her Opening Statement. The fix is in. Even with the facesaving indictment last week of hunter biden, everyone knows the fix is in. 4 1 2 years the department of justice has been investigating mr. By the, an investigation run by david wiess, an investigation that limited the number of witnesses agents could interview, an investigation a prohibited agent from referring to the president as the big guy in any interviews they did get to do. An investigation that curtailed attempts to interview biden by giving a heads up. An investigation that noted run by mr. Weiss where they told the congress three different stories in 33 days. They told this committee on june 7, david wiess said, i have ultimate authority to determine when, where and whether to bring charges. 23 ds later, he told this committee, actually, i can only bring charges in my u. S. Attorney district, district of delaware. To further confuse matters, on july 10, he told senator graham , i have not sought special counsel status, rather, i have had discussions with the department of justice. An investigation run by mr. Weiss that negotiated a plea deal that the Federal District court declined to accept. A plea deal so ridiculous that the judge asked this question, is there any precedents for agree not to prosecute crimes that have nothing to do with the charges being diverted . The response from the doj lawyer, i am not aware of any, your honor. A plea deal so ridiculous that the judge also asked, have you ever seen a diversion agreement with an agreement not to prosecute was so broad that it encompasses crimes in a different case . The response from the doj lawyer, no, your honor, we have. Not only was a sweetheart deal rejected, but according to the near times, there was an even sweeter deal, an earlier deal, a deal in which mr. Biden would not have to plead guilty to anything. 4 1 2 years, and all that, and that we get a special counsel. Now we get a special counsel. Who does the attorney general pick . David wiess, the guy who let all that happen. He couldve selected anyone. He could have picked anyone inside government, outside government, but he picks the one guy he knows will project joe biden. He picks david wiess. Here is what the ag said in his august 11 announcement of david wiess as special counsel. I am confident that mr. Weiss carry out his responsibility in an evenhanded and urgent matter. Urgent manner . Every witness we have talked to, the two f. B. I. Whistleblowers that came forward , the two f. B. I. Agents on the case, they have all said this thing was anything but urgent. The f. B. I. Said this was frustration at the pace. Of course, the irs agents, they said the investigation was slow walked. Evenhanded . A limited the number of witnesses that could be interviewed. They tipped off the defense counsel about a subpoena. The judge says the plea deal was a joke. All that is just half the story. There is one investigation protecting President Biden, theres another one attacking President Trump. The Justice Department has both sides of the equation covered. Look at the classified documents case. Spring and early summer of last year, the department of justice asked President Trump to turn over boxes of documents. He does just that. In the process, President Trump finds 38 additional documents, he tells the department of justice, very next day the f. B. I. Comes to his home and he turned them over. Then they asked the president to put any boxes he brought from the white house to his home in a storage home and secure it by locking it. He does that as well. Everything they ask him to do, he did. Them what does the Justice Department do . August 8 of last year they rate his home. According to the f. B. I. Agent, the assistant director in charge of the Washington Field office, the search was a complete departure from standard protocol. When we interviewed him, he said, first, the Miami Field Office did not do the search. Instead, they said folks from d. C. He said there was no u. S. Attorney signed to the case. Instead it was run by d. C. , in particular, jake pratt, who is now on the special counsel team. He said the f. B. I. Did not get President Trumps Council Approval before they did the search. And that he told us, he had recommended that when the f. B. I. Got to the home of mr. Trump, they waited for counsel to do that together. But the doj said no. Who does the attorney general name is special counsel and that case . Jack smith, the guy who a few years ago was looking for with the prosecute americans, looking to prosecute the very victims of the weaponized government, the weaponized irs. Jack smith, the guy who prosecuted governor mcdonald, only to have the Supreme Court overturned that prosecution in a unanimous decision. That is the guy the attorney general of the United States selects as special counsel. Any wonder why four out of five americans believe there are now two standards of justice in our great country. I anticipate a number of questions on these two investigations. Later in the hearing i expect from republicans you will also get questions about the many other concerns the American People have with the department. The School Board Memorandum, catholics, the memo that said prolife catholics are extremists, the fifth circuit decision, great decision, on the department of justice and other agencies censoring speech. And of course, the fisa law and how that process has been abused and infringed on privacy rights of American People. Americans believe that today in our country there is unequal application of the law. They believe that because there is. Republicans are committed to making a change. With that, yield to the gentleman from new york, the Ranking Member, for Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, at the outset let me make two comments. Just about every a surgeon you made in your Opening Statement has been completely refuted by witnesses who have testified before this committee. Number two, far from being favored, many commentators have noted that people accused of simple gun possession while under the influence of a drug in which the gun was not used in the commission of a crime are rarely, if ever, prosecuted the way hunter biden is being prosecuted. Mr. Chairman, one of her most important duties is conducting oversight of the department of justice. We are called upon to ensure the doj uses the enormous amount of power granted in a fair and just manner that respects the civil and human rights of all americans. The attorney general of the United States overseas issues that affect the lives of each and every american. Violent crime, Drug Trafficking, attacks on civil rights, threats to National Security, and environmental crimes all fall under his purview. That is why we regularly request that he or she appear before this committee to speak about the work the department is doing for the welfare of the country. This is how we ensure the department stays accountable to the American People. If it were up to the republicans, americans would hear nothing about any of the substantive issues today. They would hear nothing about the rise in domestic terrorism and what the Justice Department is doing about it. They would hear nothing about what the department is doing to stop hate crimes and prevent gun violence. They would hear nothing about how the department is disrupting efforts by russia, china and others to interfere in our elections. Extreme accomack the republicans have poisoned vital oversight work the day of the ignored legitimate responsibilities and use their power to stage i political stunt after another. They have with the countless taxpayer dollars on baseless investigations into President Biden and his family, desperate to find evidence for an absurd impeachment and desperate to distract from the mounting legal peril facing donald trump. They have fought tirelessly to stop efforts to fight for actors manipulating americans through social media. They have unconstitutionally appeared in criminal litigation an attempted to bully state and local Law Enforcement own offices. They publicize the names of witnesses, leading to threats of death of physical violence against those witnesses and their families. They have caused any number private institutions and Companies Millions of dollars in legal fees as they struggle to respond to ridiculous and overbroad requests for information and transcribed interviews. They have issued subpoenas for show without making meaningful attempts to get the information they seek by consent. They have levied low, baseless personal attacks on any prosecutor to bring charges against donald trump or january 6th writers. They have attempted to discredit investigators were not hard enough on Donald Trumps political opponents. They supported the attack on january 6. They have justified conduct we all know to be wildly illegal, like the theft of classified materials and incitement of violence. And through it all, rather than try to unite the country or solve the problems that affect us all, they have sought to exploit our division for cynical, personal political gain. That is their goal, division. They want to divide this country and make our government appear like it is broken, because that is when theyre broken broken Political Parties rise. Today i implore the public to see through the sham. I have no doubt you will hear a deluge of conspiracy theories and baseless accusations. They will quote freely from so called whistleblowers who have been broadly discredited or contradicted. They will viciously attack federal Law Enforcement. They will tell you that all 91 criminal charges against donald trump are part of the conspiracy, despite overwhelming evidence of each of his crimes. They will attack special counsel david wiess, who was appointed by donald trump, lets not forget, for being not hard enough on hunter biden. They will continue with they have been doing for years, discrediting anyone who does not serve their Political Goals at any cost. The shame of it is that in this hearing room, like on the house floor where we are barreling towards a government shutdown, we could be working together to put people over politics and to solve any number of problems affecting the American People. More than 30,000 americans have died from gun violence so far this year alone. Guns have become the leading cause of death for children ages 1 through 17. Surpassing car accidents. Domestic violence extremism and White Nationalism are on the rise. We are seeing active clubs and other white supremacist groups pop up around the country. Antisemitism is at an alltime high. Maligned foreign actors like russia, china, i ran, and north korea are attempting to influence our elections. Political rhetoric is causing threats against Law Enforcement officials to skyrocket. The Immigration Court system is in desperate need of reform. Our election workers received Death Threats from Conspiracy Theory driven extremists. Fentanyl is filling the streets of poisoning children. This list goes on and on. And we the people in this groom are in a position to do something about it. In fact, it is our duty to do something about it. Consistent with the oath we took when we were sworn in as members of congress. We could work with the department of justice and attorney general garland to address any number of real substantive problems facing the American People. Instead, House Republicans will use their time today to talk about long discredited conspiracy theories and Hunter Bidens laptop. They will do it because they care more about donald trump than they do about their own constituents. I hope my colleagues will see reason and at least attempt to work with the attorney general in good faith. Sadly, on the other side of the aisle, reason and good faith seem to be in short supply. In any event, mr. Attorney general, i thank you for your testimony and thank you in advance for your patience. I yield back. That will yield back without objection. All other Opening Statements will be included in the record. We will now introduce the witness. The honorable Merrick Garland is the attorney general of the United States. He was sworn in on march 11, 2021. We welcome our witness at they can for appearing today. Will begin by swearing you in. Please rise and raise your right hand. Do you swear and affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you are about to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information and belief still help you god. I do. Let the record show the witness answered in the affirmative. Taking. Please note your written testimony will be entered into the record in entirety. You know how this is done, you have been here before. Again, thank you for being here. You are welcome to give your Opening Statement. Is this working . You got it. Thank you. A morning chairman jordan, Ranking Member, and distinguished members of this committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you on behalf of the more than 115,000 employees of the department of justice. Since the Justice Department was founded, it has been tasked with confronting some of the most challenging issues before the country. Today we are handling matters of significant Public Interest that carry great consequences for our democracy. A lot has been said about the Justice Department, about who we are and what we are doing, about what our job is, and what it is not. And about why we do this work. I want to provide some clarity. First, we are made up of more than 150,000 men and women working every state and in communities across the country and around the globe. They are f. B. I. , dea, atf, and United States marshals who risk their lives to serve their communities. They are prosecutors and staff who work tirelessly to enforce our laws. The overwhelming majority are career Public Servants, meaning, they were not appointed by the president of any party. Second, i want to provide clarity about what the job of the Justice Department is and about what it is not. Our job is to help keep our country safe. That includes working closely with local Police Departments and communities across the country to combat Violent Crime. In fact, today were announcing the results of a recent u. S. Marshal operation conducted with state and local Law Enforcement. That operation targeted violent fugitives and resulted in 4400 arrests across 20 cities in just three months. Our work also includes combating the drug cartels that are poisoning americans. Last friday we extradited guzman lopez, a leader of a cartel from mexico to the United States. He is a son of el chapo and one of more than a dozen Cartel Members we have indicted and extradited to the United States. Our job includes seeking justice for the survivors of child exploitation, human smuggling and sex trafficking. That includes protecting Democratic Institutions like this one by Holding Accountable all those criminally responsible for the january 6th attack on the capitol. Our job is also to protect civil rights. That includes protecting our freedoms as americans to worship and think as we please, and to peacefully express our opinions, our beliefs, and our ideas. It includes protecting the right of every eligible citizen to vote and to have that vote counted. In includes combating discrimination, defending reproductive rights under law, and deterring and prosecuting attacks such as hate crimes. Our job is to uphold the rule of law. That means we apply the same laws to everyone. There is not one set of laws for the powerful and another for the powerless, one for the rich and another for the poor, one for democrats and another for republicans, or different rules depending upon ones race, at the city, or religion. Our job is to pursue Justice Without fear or favor. Our job is not to do what is politically convenient. Our job is not to take orders