SW News: On February 1, Republicans questioned Attorney General Merrick Garland for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is a sign of the upcoming confrontations as the Grand Old Party focuses its attack on the US Justice Department ahead of elections next year.

They blamed Garland for politicizing his department and intensely probing Republicans while protecting Democrats. It was for the first time that Garland was testifying before Congress after naming special counsels to investigate former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans grilled Garland over the alleged targeting of traditional Catholics by the FBI after branding them as extreme right-wing and the prosecution of pro-life supporters using the FACE Act.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri questioned Garland about the leaked memo of the FBI which branded traditional Catholics attached to the Tridentine Latin Mass as far-right white nationalists. The senator asked the attorney general whether his department had planted spies in parishes where the Latin Mass was offered.

In response, Garland said, “The Justice Department does not do that. It does not do investigations based on religion. I saw the document you have. It’s appalling. It’s appalling. I’m in complete agreement with you. I understand that the FBI has withdrawn it and it’s now looking into how this could ever have happened.”
Senator Hawley continued to ask how many sources the FBI maintains in churches. In response, Garland said, “I don’t know and I don’t believe we have any informants aimed at Catholic churches. We have a rule against investigations based on First Amendment activity and Catholic churches are obviously First Amendment activity. But I don’t know the specific answer to that question.”
The spurt in the number of prosecutions of pro-life activists using the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act was also brought up during the grilling Senator Mike Lee of Utah belonging to the GOP said that there were. 81 attacks on pro-pregnancy centers and only two people were indicted. On the other hand, 34 pro-life supporters were charged under the Act. The attorney general acknowledged the disparity and said it was because pro-lifers usually operate during day time.

“There are many more prosecutions with respect to the blocking of the abortion centers, but that is generally because those actions are taken with photography at the time, during the daylight and seeing the person who did it is quite easy,” Garland said in response. “Those who are attacking the pregnancy resource centers, which is a horrid thing to do, are doing this at night in the dark. We have put full resources on this. We have put rewards out for this,” he said.