US: Garland vows to be politically independent as AG

Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's nominee for attorney general vowed to ensure the Justice Department remains politically independent.

Garland, a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process with bipartisan support.

Garland will inherit a Justice Department that endured a tumultuous era under Trump — rife with political drama and controversial decisions — and that faced abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation's top law enforcement agencies.

"I have grown pretty immune to any kind of pressure, other than the pressure to do what I think is the right thing, given the facts and the law. That is what I intend to do as the attorney general, I don't care who pressures me in whatever direction," he said.

Garland's nomination has gained public support on both sides of the political aisle, from more than 150 former Justice Department officials — including former attorneys general Loretta Lynch, Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, along with 61 former federal judges. Others, including two sons of former Attorney General Edward Levi, have also wrote letters of support to Congress.