Today’s hearing features Harmeet Dhillon, nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Aaron Reitz, nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy; and D. John Sauer, nominated to be Solicitor General of the United States
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Harmeet Dhillon, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Aaron Reitz, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (OLP); and D. John Sauer, to be Solicitor General of the United States. During his opening remarks, Durbin condemned President Trump for pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists. Since their pardons, many of them have gone on to commit new, dangerous crimes.
Key Quotes:
“Those of us who were witness to the January 6 riot here in the Capitol have a [shared] experience we will never forget… As a result of that riot on January 6, five police officers died, over 140 were assaulted, [and] 1,600 people were arrested and convicted of crimes [related to] that day. For those of us who witnessed that occurrence, we know what was at the heart of it. It was an attempt by a mob to take control of the Capitol while we went through the constitutional exercise of counting electoral votes… To think that we had that happen in the United States Capitol is almost unthinkable.”
“We ended up postponing the session of the Senate and House to complete [our] constitutional duty until later in the evening and [until Capitol Police] cleared these rioters out of the Capitol. I tell you that because the President really announced that they were not in fact guilty of any crime. [He said] the [insurrectionists] were being ‘assaulted.’ ‘Assaulted’ by whom? By the Capitol Police? By the National Guard that was here? That is an incredible statement and is patently false and insulting to the men and women who protect us every single day.”
“The bottom line is they [the insurrectionists] are not stopping now [that] they have been released by President Trump’s pardons. They are not stopping in their assault on the Capitol. They are now revisiting the Capitol, calling press conferences, [and] harassing men and women in uniform who protect us here every day. This has got to come to an end. Democrats and Republicans have to stand up for the men and women who are risking their lives to keep us safe every day and say to these people who are pardoned by President Trump, ‘please take your press conferences someplace else.’ We do not want them here in this Capitol. I think it is essential we move in that direction quickly. If we care for these men and women, it is time we speak up against this insulting, harassing conduct when it comes to Capitol Police.”
“Let me also say that I’m concerned, as I have been in the past, that we are seeing a transformation of law enforcement in this country that most people do not imagine… For 50 years, the [FBI] Director was the only political appointee given a 10-year term and expected to be at least mindful of his or her responsibility under the Constitution. [FBI Director] Patel is proceeding with his effort to cleanse the ranks of the FBI for anyone who has shown any conduct in the past [that is] disloyal to Donald Trump. This is the first time in history we have gone through that. [It] is an embarrassment to this nation and really is hard to imagine.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
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