Garland refuses to commit to ethics review over DOJ school board memo

Attorney General Merrick Garland repeatedly refused to commit to an ethics review after Republicans raised conflict of interest concerns about his son-in-law’s left-wing education company in the wake of a Biden DOJ memo aimed at threats and violence at school board protests.

Garland at least three times refused to say whether he had already submitted himself to an ethics review and refused to commit to any future ethics review on the issue during questioning by Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday.

The attorney general instead repeatedly said the DOJ memo simply had to do with addressing threats and violence and that no one, including him, could possibly have a conflict of interest related to it.

“Mr. Attorney General, millions of Americans are deeply concerned today that instead of addressing the most pressing issues facing our country, we’re watching the Biden-Garland Justice Department be weaponized,” Johnson said, pointing to the DOJ memo "It concerns us that it was issued just five days after the National School Board Association sent a letter to President Biden which referred to concerned parents as the equivalent of domestic terrorists and perpetrators of hate crimes.”

Johnson added: “Your memo appears to have been motivated by politics more than any pressing federal law enforcement need. This is concerning to us, and it’s worthy of investigation. It also concerns us that your actions may have been motivated by your family’s financial stake in this issue.” He asked Garland if he was familiar with the federal regulations related to impartiality for executive branch officials.

“I am very familiar with it, and I want to be clear once again that there’s nothing in this memorandum which has any effect on the kinds of curriculums that are taught or the ability of parents to complain about the kinds of curriculums that are taught,” Garland said.

GARLAND "CAN'T IMAGINE" LABELING PROTESTING PARENTS DOMESTIC TERRORISTS

Johnson retorted: “The question is, the thing that has concerned those parents that are showing up at these school board meetings, the very basis of their objection and their vigorous debate, as you mentioned earlier, is the curricula. The very curricula that your son-in-law is selling.” The Republican then asked if Garland had DOJ ethics officials look into this.

Garland dodged the question, saying, “This memorandum is aimed at violence and threats of violence.”

Johnson then asked again, and the attorney general dodged twice more.

The attorney general's memo alleged that there has been a "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation's public schools.” It said the DOJ will "discourage these threats, identify them when they occur, and prosecute them when appropriate.”

The memo was released a few days after the National School Boards Association argued to Biden that “the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

Republican senators and congressmen, along with parent groups and various activists, have questioned whether Garland has a conflict of interest related to this issue because his daughter’s husband, Xan Tanner, co-founded Panorama Education, which claims it has made its way into thousands of schools in the United States, selling race-focused student and teacher surveys and conducting training on systemic racism and oppression, white supremacy, implicit bias, and intersectionality, all under the rubric of "Social-Emotional Learning.”

Johnson also asked if Garland would commit to having a DOJ ethics official review this matter and to making the results public, and Garland stonewalled again. Johnson then asked Garland again, with the Biden official replying, “There is no company in America or, hopefully, no law-abiding citizen in America who believes that threats of violence should not be prevented. There are no conflicts of interest that anyone could have.”

The Republican argued: “This raises questions in the minds of millions of Americans, and your impartiality is being called into question. Why would you not submit to a simple ethics review of that?”

“I am exquisitely aware of the ethics requirements,” Garland said, adding, “I have followed them and lived with them for the last 25 years.” When asked again if he would seek an ethics review, Garland again replied, “I’m going to say again, there are no conflicts of interest involved when the Justice Department asks to investigate threats and violence.”

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“You are not respecting our rules, our constitutional norms, and the federal law that directly applies to your activities,” Johnson said, adding, "This is why people are losing faith in our institutions."

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Tags: News, Merrick Garland, Schools, Education

Original Author: Jerry Dunleavy

Original Location: Garland refuses to commit to ethics review over DOJ school board memo