Biden’s AG nominee won’t commit to keeping Durham as special counsel

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 07: Merrick Garland spoke with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) before a meeting in her office in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 7, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:48 PM PT – Monday, February 22, 2021

Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee Merrick Garland said he would not commit to keeping John Durham in his role investigating the origins of the Russia hoax. Garland made the statements in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing on Monday.

The federal appellate judge and former prosecutor was grilled on a variety of issues, including civil rights, domestic terrorism and the January 6 protests. Garland said he would supervise the prosecution of demonstrators who breached the Capitol and sought to destroy the cornerstone of democracy.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Garland if he spoke with Biden about the federal probe into his son Hunter.

Ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley spoke during a confirmation hearing for Judge Merrick Garland, nominee to be Attorney General, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Al Drago/Pool via AP)

“The president made abundantly clear in every public statement before and after my nomination, that decisions about investigations and prosecutions would be left to the Justice Department,” Garland stated. “That was the reason why I was willing to take this job. So the answer to your question is no.”

Garland would not commit to releasing Durham’s report to the public, but added he did not see any reason to fire him.

MORE NEWS: President Trump Says SCOTUS Tax Decision ‘Continued Political Persecution’