
Attorney General Merrick Garland to offer forceful defense of Justice Department before Congress Tuesday
CNN
Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to slam the “repeated attacks” and “conspiracy” theories floated by Republicans about the Justice Department being weaponized against former President Donald Trump during his opening statements to Congress on Tuesday, according to prepared remarks shared with CNN.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to slam the “repeated attacks” and “conspiracy” theories floated by Republicans about the Justice Department being weaponized against former President Donald Trump during his opening statements to Congress on Tuesday, according to prepared remarks shared with CNN. Garland’s forceful defense of the department and federal law enforcement will begin what is likely to be a tense, hours-long hearing before members of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 am ET. In his most explicit comments since his confirmation in 2020, Garland will tell members of the House Judiciary Committee that recent attacks on the Justice Department “are unprecedented and unfounded.” “Certain members of this Committee and the Oversight Committee are seeking contempt as a means of obtaining – for no legitimate purpose – sensitive law enforcement information that could harm the integrity of future investigations,” Garland will say, according to the prepared remarks. The attorney general was called to Capitol Hill for a hearing on the department’s work under his leadership, including efforts to combat violent crime and investigate potential threats to the US stemming from conflicts abroad. But Garland, who is at the center of Republican-led contempt proceedings, is prepared to forcefully push back against his critics.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









