Durbin again called on DHS Secretary Noem to testify in front of the Committee and urged Chairman Grassley to consider a subpoena if she refuses to appear
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered an opening statement during today’s Senate Judiciary Committee executive business meeting condemning the Trump Administration’s whitewashing of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Durbin also again called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to testify in front of the Committee and urged Chairman Grassley to consider issuing a subpoena if she refuses to appear. Durbin noted that he will make a motion at the next Committee executive business meeting to issue a subpoena to Secretary Noem if she continues to stonewall the Committee’s request.
Key Quotes:
“Last week was the fifth anniversary of January 6th… You know what Mitch McConnell, the then-Republican [Senate] Leader, said immediately after that event? ‘There’s no question—none—that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.’”
“But Senate Republicans failed to hold Trump accountable when they had the chance. He was acquitted and immediately began plotting a return to power, aided and abetted by many Republican Senators.”
“During his campaign, President Trump promised ‘retribution.’ He has made good on his promise. Throughout his second term, Donald Trump has used the justice system as a shield for his cronies and a sword to attack his opponents.”
“On his first day back in office… President Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon of nearly 1,600 January 6 rioters, including more than 600 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.”
“Next, Trump’s political appointees led an unprecedented purge of dozens of career prosecutors and FBI agents who simply did their jobs of investigating and prosecuting this attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
“Today, we have a new recruit to the January 6th dream team; Darin Smith, nominated to be U.S. Attorney for Wyoming, is before the Committee. This is a special nominee. You [Senate Republicans] would have never considered voting for this man if he were nominated by a Democratic president.”
“Mr. Smith has zero experience, civil or criminal experience, in court. But he was on the Capitol grounds on January 6. Mr. Smith of Wyoming has made the reprehensible claim that hundreds of Capitol Police officers who risked their lives for us that day were guilty of ‘massive incompetence.’”
“Last week, on the riot’s five-year anniversary, the White House published a revisionist history of January 6. Like the Soviet Union, they are trying to rewrite history and write out of history the reality of January 6. And like Darin Smith, the White House blames the Capitol Police for the violence. How shameful.”
“We have all seen the videos. Will even one Republican Senator condemn these despicable lies?”
“When Donald Trump isn’t whitewashing January 6th, he is targeting communities that didn’t vote for him, like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. Instead of deporting ‘the worst of the worst,’ as promised, the Trump Administration is rounding up tens of thousands of immigrants, or people who look like immigrants, with no criminal history.”
“You would think at some point in time this Committee would have Secretary Noem before us. She has received more money than anyone in the history of the Department, billions of dollars. She has authorized the creation of tens of hundreds of new ICE agents to attack these communities. There might be a few questions in the Judiciary Committee. She had no time in the last calendar year to appear here.”
“I understand her complaint is if she comes, she could only come for an abbreviated period of time—limited questions. She doesn’t have enough time to bother with this Committee. That is an insult to every single one of us, Republicans and Democrats. She has the time and needs to be held accountable for what is happening with that agency… It is time for Secretary Noem to come, or to step down from this position.”
“If she doesn’t agree to a specific date for a full interrogation with 10-minute rounds, I believe she should be subpoenaed and I will make that motion in this Committee the next time we meet.”
Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.
Durbin then spoke against the nomination of Darin Smith, nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming. Mr. Smith has no criminal or federal court experience; nor has he ever tried a case to verdict, judgment, or final decision. Mr. Smith could not list one significant litigated matter on his Questionnaire submitted to the Committee.
“What if we had a nominee for U.S. Attorney representing the Department of Justice in a state who had no criminal experience in court, no civil experience in court, and on his questionnaire when he was asked to point to one major piece of litigation he was involved with left it blank because he’s never been involved in one? How could a person like this be taken seriously to be the U.S. Attorney in the State of Wyoming? And yet, Darin Smith is just that person.”
“And look what he said about January 6. Who did he blame? He blamed the Capitol Police officers. He said they were ‘massively incompetent.’ He baselessly claimed the rioters were entrapped by the government. And Mr. Smith has maintained his radical and dangerous stance that Vice President Pence should not have certified the results of the 2020 election.”
“He also falsely claimed that the FBI agents who interviewed him regarding his presence in the Capitol were sent by former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and ‘her goons’ after he demanded that she be censured by the Wyoming Republican Party. Doesn’t this resume just get juicier?”
“This man is going to be a U.S. Attorney if he receives a positive vote from this Committee and on the floor. He is now in an interim capacity. You and I both know any Democratic nominee with such a resume would never be considered seriously for any job in the Justice Department.”
“This man is going to have the power of a U.S. Attorney in a state and has no criminal experience, no civil experience, never been in a courtroom, and can’t identify one piece of litigation that was important to his career. Honest to God, is this Committee going to approve this nominee?”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the nomination of Mr. Smith is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the nomination of Mr. Smith is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the nomination of Mr. Smith is available here for TV Stations.
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