Attorney General Merrick Garland made a surprise trip Tuesday to Ukraine as some critics have called on him to do more to combat violent attacks at home.
Garland visited Ukraine to meet with the country’s top prosecutor and discuss work on prosecuting potential Russian war crimes committed during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Garland said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is helping provide operational support and guidance to Ukrainian authorities investigating and prosecuting war crimes and that the DOJ would be involved in the prosecution of possible war crimes with an American connection, such as attacks on American journalists by Russia.
In unannounced trip, Attorney General Merrick Garland Visits Ukraine, Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Help Identify, Apprehend, and Prosecute Individuals Involved in War Crimes and Atrocities pic.twitter.com/GzHPGqOUYV
— Anthony Coley (@AnthonyColeyDOJ) June 21, 2022
The trip was a part of an ongoing European visit in which Garland is discussing terrorism prevention and the war in Ukraine with his peers. (RELATED: Media, White House Warned About Right-Wing Abortion Extremism — They’ve Been Completely Wrong)
Critics of Garland have called on him to do more to combat a recent wave of attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers and organizations. Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz recently accused Garland of politicizing the DOJ: “Merrick Garland has become perhaps the most political attorney general in the history of this country,” he said. “He’s willing to weaponize the Department of Justice and FBI to target parents as domestic terrorists, but he refuses to enforce the law against the people flagrantly violating the law.”
Garland finally condemned the attacks and threats against pro-life organizations and conservative Supreme Court justices in May, weeks after they began.