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‘Crocodile tears’: AG Merrick Garland nearly breaks down talking about political violence in US

October 3, 2023 | | Print Article

The political theater that defines today’s Democratic Party was on full display during a “60 Minutes” interview featuring Attorney General Merrick Garland that aired on Sunday.

Garland was nearly reduced to tears while talking about political violence in America — and to be sure, he wasn’t talking about Antifa when overcome by emotions.

“Additional security is now assigned to protect judges and prosecutors after the Trump cases drew death threats. Political violence is among Garland’s gravest concerns,” a narrator said, in setting up the segment.

“The American people must protect each other,” Garland said on cue. “They must ensure that they treat each other with civility and kindness, listen to opposing views, argue as vociferously as they want, but refrain from violence.”

“That’s the only way this democracy will survive,” he added.

CBS anchor Scott Pelley bought into the performance, asking: “Why do you feel so strongly about that?”

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“Well, I feel it for a number of reasons and a number of things that I’ve seen. But for my own family, who fled religious persecution in Europe, and some members who did not… survive, when they got to the United States, the United States protected them,” Garland replied, before adding it’s his responsibility to ensure that “we protect each other.”

The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway offered an astute point the vaulted “60 Minutes” crew skipped over in responding to the clip above: “The crocodile tears from the man protecting the Bidens are particularly interesting given how Garland has gone out of his way to leave Supreme Court justices vulnerable to leftist attacks.”

But the Garland theatrics were far from over, as he told Pelley that he would resign if President Joe Biden asked him to to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.

“I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard,” he proclaimed. “And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen.”

For an encore, Garland disputed the view held by millions of Americans of a two-tiered system of justice in America — who are you going to believe, you’re own lying eyes or Merrick Garland?

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“We do not have one rule for Republicans and another rule for Democrats. We don’t have one rule for foes and another for friends,” he insisted. ”We have only one rule; and that one rule is that we follow the facts and the law, and we reach the decisions required by the Constitution, and we protect civil liberties.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

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Tom Tillison
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