Merrick Garland's attorney general confirmation hearing: Day 1

Attorney General nominee Judge Merrick Garland on Monday said the Justice Department's pardon attorney plays a large role to "protect the president from improper influence" when it comes to granting pardons to applicants. 

During the Trump administration, "88% of the pardons that he granted had some sort of personal or political connection to the former president," Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said during the confirmation hearing on Monday. 

Some more context: By the end of Trump's presidency, he issued 237 commutations and pardons that included rappers and a political strategist. Dozens of those who were granted clemency or commutation did not go through the proper channels through the Justice Department's pardon attorney. There are over 14,000 pending clemency requests.

"What do you think we need to do to restore integrity to the pardon process? Obviously, it's an important power of the president, what do you think you could do from the attorney general's position?" Klobuchar asked.

 Garland responded by saying, "Well, senator, you're right.”

The Senate confirmation hearing for President Biden's attorney general nominee Merrick Garland has resumed after a short break.

The senators will now continue to question Garland. Garland is expected to face more questions about politically charged investigations and the prosecution of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In his testimony so far, Garland vowed to prosecute the "heinous" crimes committed in the attack on the Capitol and to redouble the Justice Department's efforts to provide equal justice amid heated policy debates over race and the criminal justice system.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode Island, asked Merrick Garland if he'd be willing "to look upstream" from the Jan. 6 rioters and investigate the "funders, organizers, leaders or aiders and abetters" of the Capitol attack.

Garland said that while the investigation has begun with "the people on the ground," as attorney general he will pursue any and all leads.

Here's how Garland laid out the investigation:

Answering a question from California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Garland also said he plans to get a briefing "on the progress of this investigation" and give the career prosecutors "who are working on this matter 24/7, all the resources they could possibly require to do this."

To date, more than 230 men and women have been charged in connection to the attack that left five people dead, and several others, including law enforcement officers, injured. The riot was an attempt to stop the Senate from counting the electoral votes that confirmed President Biden's win.

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At his Senate confirmation hearing, Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland told GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley that he had not discussed the federal investigation into Hunter Biden with President Biden.

Some background: Federal investigators in Delaware have been examining multiple financial issues involving the younger Biden, including whether he violated tax and money laundering laws in business dealings in foreign countries, principally China, two people briefed on the probe told CNN in December.

The President has made a point of distancing himself from the decision-making at the Justice Department, and as questions about his son swirled earlier this winter, he pledged to install independent leaders at the agency.

These questions were expected at today's hearing as GOP senators had already signaled that they would try to draw out Garland on how he'll handle his full plate of political problems.

CNN's Evan Perez and Pamela Brown contributed reporting to this post.

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Attorney general nominee, Merrick Garland, called the controversial Trump-era policy that led to the separation of thousands of families “shameful” during his confirmation hearing Monday. 

“I think that the policy was shameful. I can’t imagine anything worse than tearing parents from their children. And we will provide all the cooperation that we possibly can,” Garland said in a line of questioning from Senate Judiciary Chair and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.

The Justice Department played a critical role in the policy, known as “zero tolerance.” A recent government watchdog report found that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions knew early on migrant families would be separated when the Trump administration implemented the "zero tolerance" policy and still proceeded to push for the policy. 

Former President Trump ended the policy in June 2018 after mounting criticism, but last month, the Justice Department moved to rescind it altogether.

In his opening remarks at his Senate confirmation hearing, President Biden's Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland said he would supervise the prosecution of the White supremacists and others who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6.

He added that it is critical work that is part of the broad scope of the Department of Justice’s responsibilities

“The attorney general takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I am mindful of the tremendous responsibility that comes with this role," Garland said.

More on today's hearing: Garland is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the first day of a two-day hearing where he's expected to face pointed questions from senators about politically charged investigations and the prosecution of the Jan. 6 riot.

CNN's Jeremy Herb contributed reporting to this post.

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Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin told reporters he thinks Judge Merrick Garland’s first priority as attorney general should be the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

In response to a question about the possibility of Garland investigating former President Trump, Durbin said “I think that will not be his priority.”

“There are many people who want him to engage in a political agenda,” Durbin said. “I think that will not be his priority. His priority is first, the investigation in the January 6th mob invasion of this Capitol.”

During is opening statement during Garland's confirmation hearing, Durbin also stressed that the nominee would be tasked with investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for the Capitol attack to "prevent future attacks driven by hate, inflammatory words, and bizarre conspiracy theories."

Merrick Garland will likely face questions from both sides of the aisle on how he would steer the Justice Department amid policy debates over race and the criminal justice system, which came to the fore after a summer of mass protests spurred by the police killings of Black men and women.

The Republican aide said that senators were planning to press Garland on statements on the topic made by two women nominated to senior positions at the department alongside him that have generated controversy.

The aide pointed to the role that Biden's nominee to head the Justice Department's civil rights division, Kristen Clarke, played as a student in organizing a 1994 Harvard University event featuring an antisemitic professor.

Clarke has since said she regrets hosting the event. Vanita Gupta, nominated for the number three position at the department, has also drawn blowback from Republicans for saying that every institution in the US is "suffering from structural racism."

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union is pressing Garland from the left, writing in a letter released Thursday that he should make clear at his confirmation hearing that he will "adopt policies to build a more racially just criminal legal system" as attorney general.

A number of policies put in place by his Republican predecessors, like a 2018 Sessions memo that limited the use of court-ordered agreements with local police departments accused of civil rights violations, could soon be reversed under Garland.

Dozens of lawmakers led by Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley have also urged Garland to end the use of the federal death penalty after an execution spree in the final days of the Trump administration that followed a policy change under Barr.

Judiciary Committee Chair and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin called Merrick Garland's nomination for attorney general "one of the most critical" in the Justice Department's history.

"There have been few moments in history where the role of Attorney General — and the occupant of that post — have mattered more," Durbin said in his opening statement.

Durbin slammed former Attorney General William Barr, saying that under during the Trump administration "the Justice Department became an arm of the White House."

"The United States Department of Justice became the Trump Department of Justice. After all, General Barr had stated clearly that he believed the Attorney General to be the President’s lawyer, not the nation’s," Durbin said.

The Democrat said he was confident Garland could transform the department and meet the challenges of the moment.

"Judge Garland, we are confident that you can rebuild the Department’s once hallowed halls. That you can restore the faith of the American people in the rule of law. And that you can deliver equal justice for all," Durbin said. 

"I am confident, given this prior experience, that you are up to the task that the Department now faces in the wake of January 6th. In fact, I can think of no one better suited," the senator added in closing. 

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