Garland Testifies on Trump Raid Controversy

Attorney General Garland, you said in our last exchange

that it's your practice to

defer to FBI agents in the field. I was

interested, given your answer, to read in this morning's Washington Post,

that the FBI is saying that you overruled them when it

came to

raiding ex-President Trump's personal residence.

Washington Post reports this morning, "Showdown before the raid," that senior

FBI officials who would be in charge of leading the search

resisted doing so as too combative.

These field agents wanted to shutter the criminal investigation

altogether, but they were overruled by main

DOJ.

I've skimmed that article. It is not, that's not an accurate reflection of what

the

article says, and I'm not able to comment on the

investigation.

Um, my comment earlier was about tactics, uh, on, on the ground

in particular cases.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You said it's not an...

I, I'm reading to you from the article.

Quote, "Senior FBI officials who would be in

charge of

leading the search resisted the plan as too combative and

proposed instead to seek Trump's permission to seek his property,

according to four

people," end quote.

There is often a robust discussion, and in the end,

and it's encouraged among investigators and prosecutors.

But yes, and you made the decision.

I did. That's-

Right? You said you did.

No, I'm sorry. What I said was I approved the decision.

So you didn't make the decision to raid?

I appro- I approved the decision to seek a search

warrant after

probable cause was found.

Overruling the FBI agents who did not want to do so.

Did you talk about this with the White House beforehand?

The memorandum does not... That, that, that, that, um, um,

Washington Post article does not say what you're saying.

I'm sorry, and I'm not able to describe this in any

further-

Mr. Chairman, I'll just ask that this entire article be entered into

the record.

Without objection.

And we can read for ourselves. I invite people to go and look.

It says exactly that FBI field agents did not wanna conduct the raid,

and they were overruled by DOJ.

So

it doesn't seem to me, Attorney General, that the FBI has a lot of confidence

in you because what they're doing, clearly, is trying to distance themselves

from your decisions. They're out there leaking left, right,

and center and saying,

"It wasn't us. We didn't wanna do it.

He made us do it." What's that say about their confidence in your

leadership?

You know, the previous senator said that they're leaking all in favor of the

left.

Now you're saying they're leaking all in favor of-

I'm asking you my question. Answer my question based on this evidence.

Don't dissemble, Attorney General.

Time has expired.

Answer my question.

Time has expired. Senator Cotton.