It was
quite a day on the Hill yesterday.
Attorney General Merrick
Garland tackled
more than 4 hours
of questioning by the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
Republicans eager to press him
on the investigations
into President Biden
and Trump over classified documents.
On top of questions about Hunter Biden,
also questions about fentanyl,
the sale of deadly drugs and social media
and, of course,
the ticketing issues around
Taylor Swift's concert.
Paula Reid live for CNN
this morning in Washington.
When I say that in jest,
but it's a really serious issue
about whether there's monopoly
power there.
But what did you take away
from this hearing?
Exactly.
And Ticketmaster
is also one area
where you can find bipartisan consensus.
But one of the biggest takeaways
from yesterday's hearing,
I mean, remember,
this is usually
a pretty contentious forum
that was really surprised
by how much substance was covered.
And they talked
about fentanyl,
violent crime and child labor.
And it was really 4 hours
into the hearing
before any Republicans even asked
about the investigation
into former President Trump
You were the attorney general
of the United States.
You are in charge
of the Justice Department.
And yes, sir, you are responsible.
So give me an answer.
Attorney General Merrick
Garland appeared on Capitol
Hill Wednesday
amid high profile
investigations into President
Biden and former President Trump
but warned
he would not be able to reveal details
of any ongoing cases
so that we do not
jeopardize
the viability of our investigations
and the civil liberties of our citizens.
Though he was willing to explain why
he is not appointed a special counsel
to handle an investigation
into Hunter Biden,
I promised to leave the matter of Joe
Biden in the hands of the U.S.
attorney
for the District of Delaware,
who was appointed
in the previous administration.
Yet after months of Republicans
railing against the FBI
for executing a search warrant
at Trump's Mar a Lago home,
they didn't
bring that up
until 4 hours into the hearing.
I approved the decision
to seek a search warrant
after probable
cause was overruling
the FBI agent who did not want to do so.
Garland
repeatedly defended the department
against accusations of Partizanship.
They also want to at least respond
to their characterization
of the department,
which I vigorously disagree with.
I believe the men and women
of the department
pursue their work
every single day in a nonpartisan
and appropriate federal garland.
As Republicans
hammered the attorney
general on protests
at the homes of Supreme Court justices
and other conservative
causes, your failure to act
to protect the safety of the justices
and their families
was an obvious product of political bias.
Garland said his decision to have U.S.
marshals protect the justices.
20 47 was unprecedented.
Senator, you asked me
whether I sat on my hands
and quite the opposite.
I sent 70 United
States marshals try again.
Has the department
of Justice brought even a single case
under this statute?
So, yes, no question.
It's not a get
give a speech on the other things
you did.
The job of the United States
Marshals is to defend the lives.
The answer is no.
It said defend the lives of the justices.
And that's their number one priority.
Garland also engaged on a controversy
that unites
even the staunchest
political adversaries.
Ticketmaster multiple lawmakers
brought up the Justice Department's
reported antitrust investigation
into Ticketmaster's parent company.
Following the botched
handling of Taylor Swift concerts.
We know, quote,
all too well, close
quote,
the importance of competition
in this industry.
As in all other industries.
And so you can be confident
that in all of our work,
we approach you with an understanding
that highly Concentré
rated industries are
a problem for competition.
Did you catch that?
I can confirm from conversations
to the attorney general
that he is actually
a big Taylor Swift fan.
Now, aside
from the distrust of Ticketmaster,
the other area where there was clear
bipartisan consensus was fentanyl
and the fact that we were
just not doing enough on that issue.
And the attorney
general reminded lawmakers
that he can only work with the laws
and the resources
that he was given by Congress
and said he would welcome more help
on that issue.
It's great that you point out, too,
how much substance
there was in those hearings.
Right, because that is critically important
for the American people.
It's what they deserve.
Paula, thank you for the reporting.