Politics

Ted Cruz Grills AG Garland Over Politicization Of Justice Department

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday about the Department's refusal to prosecute any of the protesters who showed up to the homes of Supreme Court justices in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson. [Screenshot Twitter CSpan]

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Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday about the Department’s refusal to prosecute protesters who showed up to the homes of Supreme Court justices in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson.

“I have to say I am deeply disappointed in what the last two years have shown,” Cruz said. “The Department of Justice has been politicized to the greatest extent I’ve ever seen in this country. And it has done a discredit to the Department of Justice, to the FBI, and to the administration of law in this country.”

Cruz then lodged his first question to Garland regarding protesting in front of a judge’s home, with Garland noting it is illegal before seeking to defend the characterization of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Cruz acknowledged the many DOJ employees who seek to uphold the integrity of the law and said he’s heard from several disgruntled employees that they believe the department has become the “enforcement arm of the DNC.”

Cruz then went on to lay out how the DOJ failed to charge protesters who showed up to the homes of the conservative Supreme Court Justices in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and those who published the addresses of said homes along with the Justices’ places of worship.

Garland attempted to defend his actions, saying he sent United States Marshalls to defend the homes of the Justices, with Cruz interjecting several times to ask him to answer whether he has prosecuted, under current law, any of the individuals who showed up to the Justices’ homes and dispelled personal information.

“Have you brought even one?” Cruz asked.

“Senator, you asked whether if I’ve sat on my hands and quite the opposite I sent 70 Marshalls-” Garland began to say.

“Okay let me try again, has the Department of Justice brought even a single case under this statute, it’s a yes/no question, it’s not a ‘give a speech on the other things you did.'”

“The job of the United States Marshall’s is to defend the lives of-” Garland began before Cruz cut him off once more.

“So the answer is no,” Cruz said. “Why are you unwilling to say no? The answer is ‘no’. You know it’s ‘no’ I know it’s ‘no’ everyone in this hearing room knows it’s ‘no’, you’re not willing to answer a question! Have you brought a case under this statute, yes or no?”

“As far as I know, we haven’t and what we have done is defend the lives of the justices with the 70-” Garland said. (RELATED: DOJ Official Overseeing Prosecution Of Pregnancy Center Attacks Has A History Of Disparaging Them)

“So how do you decide which criminal statutes the DOJ enforces and which one’s it doesn’t?” Cruz pressed, with Garland arguing the Marshalls on site get to determine whether to prosecute a case while Cruz pushed back.

“Can I answer the question?”

“No, you cannot, you have refused to answer the question,” Cruz said.

Garland then said the Marshalls on scene make the decision whether to arrest individuals with Cruz pushing back that Garland has the authority to prosecute.

A man was charged with attempted murder after traveling from California to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home in protest of the Dobbs v. Jackson case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Protesters showed up to Kavanaugh’s home the following night to continue protesting. A Judicial Crisis Network poll from July found 61% of Americans believe protesters should not interfere in the private lives of Supreme Court Justices.