(TheRedWire.com) – On Wednesday, Senior Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Attorney General Merrick Garland about the fentanyl crisis and the influx of drugs and migrants crossing the southern border. Their line of questioning also included questions about the Department of Justice’s stance regarding mandatory minimum sentences.
During the panel’s first oversight hearing in the 118th Congress, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) pressed for information regarding Garland’s memo that would have stopped prosecutors from seeking mandatory minimum sentences in some drug cases. According to Cornyn’s point, the number of drug-related deaths in the United States has increased so much that the “lack of sense of urgency” regarding this issue is astonishing to him. He proceeded to blame the Biden administration for their law enforcement and asylum policies which have allowed this influx. He then argued that Garland’s memo would lead to a disproportionate way of handling severe sentences.
In response, Garland said that it is all a matter of resources. He noted, “we don’t have money, we don’t have enough jails, we don’t have enough judges.”
However, Cornyn did not agree with this reply and argued that Garland had given himself permission to make policy decisions by telling prosecutors to not charge those who would face a mandatory minimum sentence. However, Garland argued that the memo did not apply to cases of violent crimes or drug trafficking.
Still, Cornyn argued that Garland did not get to choose which cases with a mandatory minimum sentence should be charged.
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