‘So Outrageous! So Absurd!’ Merrick Garland Loses Temper at House Republican Over Allegations of Religious Discrimination at DOJ

Attorney General Merrick Garland lost his temper during an exchange with Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, characterizing Van Drew’s accusations as “outrageous and absurd.”

Van Drew began the exchange by charging Garland with various sins, including an anti-Catholic memo circulated at the Department of Justice.

“The two-tiered system of justice is clear and it’s clear to the American public. And the buck stops with the man in charge. That man is you. The actions of the DOJ are on you. The decline of Americans trust in our federal law enforcement is on you. The political weaponization of the DOJ is on you,” argued Van Drew. “Attorney General, I need a simple yes or no to the following. Just yes or no because we don’t have much time. Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists, yes or no?”

That question kicked off a heated back-and-forth between the two:

MERRICK GARLAND: Let me answer what you’ve said in that long list of-

[CROSSTALK]

GARLAND: I’ll be happy to answer all of those.

VAN DREW: Attorney General, I control the time. I’m gonna ask you to answer the questions I ask.

GARLAND: You’ve controlled the time by asking me a substantial number of things and I –

VAN DREW: I didn’t ask you those things, I made a statement. Attorney General, through the chair I ask you, do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists? Answer the question.

GARLAND: I have no idea what traditional means here, let me just-

VAN DREW: Catholics! Catholics that go to church.

GARLAND: May I answer your question? The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous! So absurd!

[CROSSTALK]

VAN DREW: Mr. Attorney General, it was your FBI that did this. It was your FBI that was sending — and we have the memos, we have the emails –were sending undercover agents into Catholic churches.

GARLAND: Both I and the director of the FBI have said that we were appalled by that memo.

Garland and Van Drew continued to spar over the DOJ’s treatment of religious Catholics. The former’s DOJ has been criticized for its zealous prosecution of pro-life activists. Last week, two 70+ year old women were found guilty of being “engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services.”

“The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $350,000,” boasted the DOJ in a press release.

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