Merrick Garland, who is US President Joe Biden’s preference for filling the position of the Justice Department’s leadership, announced on Monday that if he is confirmed as the Attorney General, fighting domestic extremism will his priority. 

Garland told the Senate Justice Committee that currently the extent of far-right extremism in the US is higher than 1995, when he investigated the attack in Oklahoma City which resulted in the death of 168 people. 

He further tried to connect the dots by comparing the 1995 attack on a federal building and the violent riots on the US Capitol on January 6, carried out by the supporters of the former US President Donald Trump. 

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“This was the most heinous attack on the democratic process that I have seen, and one that I never expected to see in my lifetime,” Garland told the panel, which is vetting his nomination, adding that he did not think it was “necessarily a one-off.”

“We are facing a more dangerous period than we faced in Oklahoma City at that time,” he continued.

“I can assure you that this will be my first priority, and my first briefing,” he told the committee.

The hearing comes just weeks after Trump went on trial in the Senate — and was acquitted — on impeachment charges of fomenting the January 6 attack.

Garland was asked if he would investigate the “ringleaders” and “aiders and abetters” behind the attack.

“We will pursue these leads wherever they take us,” he said, without any mention of the former president.

Garland, who is currently an appeals court judge in the US, vowed to ensure that the Department of Justice does not intersect and overlap with politics while citing the alleged interferences by the former administration. 

He said that if confirmed, he would reaffirm “policies that protect the independence of the department from partisan influence in law enforcement investigations (and) that strictly regulate communications with the White House.”

He also said an “urgent” task of the department was to ensure equal justice for minorities and people of color, in an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.

He further stressed on issues like the shortcomings in the employment and educational sectors in the US and also brought up the irregularities in the policies about important yet sensitive topics like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the Department’s Civil Rights Division, with the mission ‘to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society,'” Garland said.

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“That mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice.”

Republicans on the committee appeared welcoming to Garland, suggesting that he would gain easy approval.

“I like you, I respect you, and I think you’re a good pick for this job,” said Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the committee.

However, the Senate Justice Committee’s Republican representations pivoted the meeting towards pushing Garland into following up on the investigations initiated by the former administration. 

He said, “I don’t care who pressure me in any direction. The Department, if I am confirmed, will be under my protection for the purpose of preventing any kind of partisan or other improper motive in making any kind of investigation or prosecution. That’s my vow. That’s the only reason I’m willing to do this job,” reported CNN.