[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 743 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 743
Impeaching Merrick Brian Garland, Attorney General of the United
States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 22, 2021
Mr. Perry (for himself and Mr. Biggs) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Merrick Brian Garland, Attorney General of the United
States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That Merrick Brian Garland, Attorney General, is
impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following
Articles of Impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:
Articles of Impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people
of the United States of America, against Merrick Brian Garland,
Attorney General, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against
him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
article i
Merrick Brian Garland, in his conduct while Attorney General,
engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as
an Officer of the United States, as follows:
Attorney General Garland took an oath to defend and secure our
country and uphold the Constitution when he was sworn in as Attorney
General on March 11, 2021. Article II of the U.S. Constitution tasks
the executive branch--which today includes the Attorney General--with
ensuring the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the
President are faithfully executed.
Attorney General Garland has failed to faithfully uphold his oath
and has instead presided over a reckless and corrosive politicization
of the Department of Justice at the expense of our Nation's children.
On September 29, 2021, the National School Boards Association
(NSBA) sent a letter to President Biden requesting a joint expedited
review by the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Homeland
Security examining appropriate enforceable actions against alleged
threats to school boards under Federal statutes including the USA
PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56).
The USA PATRIOT Act gave the Federal Government expansive authority
to violate the civil liberties of everyday Americans, via methods
including wiretapping; bulk collection of telephone metadata and other
records; warrantless surveillance; sweeping powers of detention;
investigations into lawful First Amendment activity; and the expanded
use of National Security Letters.
The Act has been used to investigate non-terrorism offenses, such
as drug trafficking and copyright infringement. It was also
unsuccessfully used to justify placing a GPS tracking device on an
alleged drug trafficker in violation of the Fourth Amendment and
secretly search homes and offices without probable cause.
The Act also expanded the use of National Security Letters, which
the Department of Justice has abused to obtain information outside the
scope of suspected terrorist activities and without due process. A 2007
Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report found that the
FBI obtained telephone records on over 700 occasions without even
issuing an NSL or a grand jury subpoena. That report also found that
the FBI used NSLs in violation of existing statutes and departmental
guidelines and policies.
On October 4, 2021, the Department of Justice released a memorandum
from Attorney General Garland promising to announce a series of
measures designed to address the alleged rise in criminal conduct
toward school personnel, including opening dedicated lines of
communication for threat reporting. Attorney General Garland's memo
made no mention of the statutory authority or authorities the
Department would use to address those threats.
The numerous, well-documented abuses of the PATRIOT Act and other
domestic terrorism statutes--often in contravention of Americans'
First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights--should preclude them from
consideration in addressing unfounded and uninvestigated threats to
school personnel. Their misuse by the Department of Justice will lead
to a chilling effect on the protected speech of parents who wish to
express legitimate concerns about their children's education and
safety, such as in the case of a father seeking answers in October 2021
after a male teenager allegedly raped and sodomized his daughter in a
bathroom at a high school in Loudoun County, Virginia, which was cited
as a specific example of school violence in the September 2021 National
School Boards Association's letter.
State school boards associations have likened this approach to
Federal overreach and have expressed worries about its possible
suppression of First Amendment activity. While the September 29, 2021,
NSBA letter cited media reports about Virginia school board meetings,
an October 6, 2021, press release by the Virginia School Boards
Association emphasized that they did not seek the involvement of
Federal law enforcement officials in local decisions. Similarly, an
October 11, 2021, Florida School Boards Association letter underscored
the importance of free speech and their reliance on local and State law
enforcement. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association voted to cancel
its membership in the National School Boards Association entirely.
Furthermore, devoting valuable Department of Justice resources to
demonizing parents expressing constitutional speech--such as questions
about alleged sexual assaults--as domestic terrorists would dangerously
limit the credibility and ability of the Department of Justice to
prosecute verifiable terrorist threats.
Attorney General Garland's failure to explicitly denounce the use
of this statute will hamper legitimate First Amendment activity aimed
at protecting American children and improving our Nation's schools
while decreasing the resources available to pursue actual terrorists.
Wherefore, Merrick Brian Garland, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
article ii
Merrick Brian Garland, in his conduct while Attorney General,
engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as
an Officer of the United States, as follows:
Attorney General Garland took an oath to defend and secure our
country and uphold the Constitution when he was sworn in as Attorney
General on March 11, 2021. Article II of the U.S. Constitution tasks
the executive branch--which today includes the Attorney General--with
ensuring the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the
President are faithfully executed.
Attorney General Garland has failed to faithfully uphold his oath
and has by his actions, validated the belief of many Americans that the
Department of Justice has been transformed into an unstoppable,
partisan, Federal weapon used to officially punish political opponents.
In an October 4, 2021, memorandum, Attorney General Garland
announced that the Department of Justice would address alleged criminal
conduct of lawful First Amendment activities objecting, among other
things, to the teaching of ``equity'', ``inclusion'', and ``critical
race theory'' concepts in public school districts.
Attorney General Garland's son-in-law is the co-founder of Panorama
Education, which contracts with school districts to survey students on
topics including ``social-emotional learning'' and ``equity and
inclusion''. Panorama Education's investors include Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. According to its website,
the company has previously contracted with the Hawaii Department of
Public Education and the Fresno Unified School District.
On June 8, 2021, Panorama Education was awarded a $1.8 million
contract by Fairfax County Public Schools to conduct surveys on topics
including race and ``inclusion'' and implement ``interventions''. On
September 9, 2021, the contract was increased to $2.4 million.
Despite Attorney General Garland's close personal relationship with
an individual who stands to financially benefit from the promotion of
``equity'', ``inclusion'', and ``critical race theory'' concepts in
public school curricula--and the suppression of dissenting opinions--
Attorney General Garland has not addressed this obvious conflict of
interest.
This lack of action runs counter to the steps that career service
executive branch officials, including Department of Justice employees,
must take to avoid ``an appearance of loss of impartiality'', which
include recusal from related matters and consultation with an agency
ethics official (5 CFR 2635.502).
Attorney General Garland's failure to address a possible conflict
of interest demonstrates that he is unfit to hold the office of
Attorney General.
Wherefore, Merrick Brian Garland, by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
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