Attorney General Merrick Garland last week called criticism of the Justice Department an “attack” on “democracy.” He was speaking of criticism that came after reports that the Justice Department ignored the IRS recommendation to charge Hunter Biden with felony tax crimes.
Responding to a reporter’s question about whether Americans should be concerned about the Department of Justice’s integrity, Garland said criticism “constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy.”
This week, however, Garland’s boss President Joe Biden criticized the U.S. Supreme Court several times, and warned he would have the last word in his quest to reinstate systematic racism in college admissions. Biden said the Supreme Court cannot have the last word on the Constitution.
“While the court can render a decision, it cannot change what America stands for,” he said on Thursday from the White House. He said that the current Supreme Court is not a “normal court.”
Merrick did not then defend “democracy” when the president, who is the head of the Executive Branch, attacked the third branch of government — the Supreme Court.
Such is the double standard employed by the Biden Administration.
In the ruling on ending affirmative action practices in college admissions, Merrick said he and the Biden Administration would find ways to work around the ruling, which refocuses admissions practices on academic merit rather than race.
“The Supreme Court’s decision undercuts efforts by universities across the country to create a diverse group of graduates prepared to lead in an increasingly diverse nation. It will significantly set back efforts to advance educational opportunity for all Americans. And it upends nearly 50 years of precedent,” the Department of Justice said in a statement criticizing the Supreme Court.
“The Department of Justice remains committed to promoting student diversity in higher education using all available legal tools. In the coming weeks, we will work with the Department of Education to provide resources to college and universities on what admissions practices and programs remain lawful following the Court’s decision,” Garland’s department said.
Garland was once nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama to fill the position after the death of Antonin Scalia, but Garland failed to get Senate confirmation, after the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed hearings due to the political turbulence of the election year. Garland’s nomination expired 293 days after it had been made by Obama, and that allowed President Donald Trump, in 2016 to nominate a conservative to the court. He nominated Neil Gorsuch, who went on to win confirmation, 14 months after the death of Scalia.
Had Garland been confirmed, the ruling in favor of Students for Fair Admissions on June 29, 2023 would have been 5-4 instead of 6-3.
