CNN analyst and former FBI chief Andrew McCabe said Wednesday on CNN “News Central” that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee was “very much political theater.”
Anchor Boris Sanchez asked, “We saw some fireworks early on but in terms of substance, has anybody garland said stood out to you, or is this mostly political theater?”
McCabe said, “It’s very much political theater, I’m afraid.”
He continued, “I have to say that that’s not particularly unique. I can tell you from personal experience having testified in front of this committee before, the House Judiciary Committee, it is very different from the Senate side. It has a reputation for being free willing and aggressive. It is a lot of members typically in the room at the same time. So you expect a pretty wild, you know, broad range of questions on all kinds of things.”
McCabe added, “That being said, AG Garland has a very, very narrow area in which he can move today. He cannot and clearly will not discuss any of the cases that he’s getting many questions about, most notably the Hunter Biden investigation. Ongoing investigations have always been beyond the scope of anything the department will discuss. I think he’s done an admirable job in holding that line, but he’s taking a lot of punches along the way. He has clearly made a decision to be more forceful and speak up in defense of the men and women of the Justice Department and the FBI. I think that’s a great decision. I’m sure the workforces appreciate that deeply.”
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