Title: Impeaching Merrick Brian Garland, Attorney General of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
This resolution impeaches Attorney General Merrick Garland for high crimes and misdemeanors relating to investigating threats against school personnel and to a conflict of interest.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 743 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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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