Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have a good day when he was called to the Hill.
Republicans have been licking their chops for months to get him back there, and they destroyed him when they did.
One of the better sessions was when Rep. Massie (R-KY) unleashed on him.
Your Authority
For quite some time now, there has been a debate if the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was constitutional.
Oddly enough, this would also apply to the appointment of Special Counsel John Durham, was not appointed by Congress or the president, but instead by Attorney General William Barr.
Massie went right after Garland, asking him, “What gives you the authority to appoint a special counsel to create…you’ve created an office in the U.S. government that does not exist without authorization from Congress.”
Garland responded, “There are regulations under which the Attorney General appoint Special Counsel, they have been in effect for 30 years, maybe longer, under both parties.
“The matter that you’re talking about, about whether somebody can have an employee of the Justice Department serve as special counsel has been adjudicated.”
Massie fired right back at him, “It seems like you’ve created an office that would require an act of Congress, yet there’s not an act of Congress that authorizes that.
“And even if it didn’t require an act of Congress, and you’ve already admitted that there was no act of Congress that established this office, it would still require, according to the Constitution, a nomination by the President and confirmation by the Senate.”
Now, as I hinted above, if they are able to discredit the appointment of Smith, then Dems can come right back and discredit the appointment of Durham.
I doubt Republicans will be successful here, but it sure is fun seeing Garland taking the heat before committee.
