During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the committee, questioned Colin McDonald, the nominee for Assistant Attorney General for the newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division at the Department of Justice. The committee, according to its official website, has significant influence over constitutional protections and public safety through legislative and oversight duties.
Senator Durbin first raised concerns about Mr. McDonald's association with Ed Martin. After Mr. Martin’s nomination to be U.S. Attorney for D.C. was withdrawn, he was appointed by President Trump to non-Senate-confirmed roles such as Pardon Attorney and Director of the Weaponization Working Group. Earlier this year, Martin left DOJ headquarters after mishandling grand jury materials from an investigation involving the President’s political opponents.
“You’ve been identified as co-chair of the Weaponization Working Group. Mr. Martin talked about that as a group getting even with people who are critical of the President. Are you co-chair of that group?” Durbin asked.
Mr. McDonald did not directly answer.
“So, the answer is yes, you are co-chair of the Weaponization Working Group?” Durbin continued.
Instead of responding directly, Mr. McDonald stated, “Senator, I am involved in the work of the Weaponization Working Group. That’s been one of my many responsibilities in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.”
Durbin responded: “You are very tactful in your answer. The President is explicit—he’s going after the people that he thinks went after him. As many of us believe, that should come to an end. But you have been a part of Mr. Martin’s effort and I want to put that on the record.”
The questioning then shifted to Jared Wise, described by Durbin as a January 6 insurrectionist who encouraged violence against Capitol Police Officers and now serves as a senior advisor at DOJ and member of the Weaponization Working Group.
“What was your involvement in the decision to hire him [Mr. Wise]?” Durbin asked.
Mr. McDonald replied: “I am not today going to get into any personnel matters with respect to the Department of Justice.”
Durbin continued: “I understand why you don’t want to answer the question. Here’s the story on Jared Wise. Jared Wise was here on January 6 with the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol. He was filmed saying to the police officers, ‘You guys are disgusting, you are [the] Nazis, you are the gestapo.’ He [joined] the violent mob that was attacking police officers saying, ‘F them! Kill them!’ The man was prosecuted for his conduct and he was subject to the full and unconditional pardon by President Trump and then went to work for the Justice Department in your Division. Do you have any problems with his background?”
Mr. McDonald did not provide an answer.
“I’m asking if you know about Jared Wise and his background and [if you] were part of the decision to make him an employee of the Justice Department after what I just described. It’s a simple question—you can say that ‘yes I was involved’ or no ‘I wasn’t involved,’” said Durbin.
Again declining a direct response, Mr. McDonald stated only that he was not involved in hiring decisions.
“Do you have any problem with his background working for the Justice Department?” Durbin pressed further.
McDonald replied: “I would refer to my answer that the weaponization work in the Department of Justice currently is critical work.”
Durbin also asked whether McDonald had been involved in disbanding DOJ's National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team; McDonald indicated only that personnel from this team had been reassigned elsewhere within DOJ without addressing specifics.
The Senate Judiciary Committee oversees judicial nominations and federal law enforcement while reviewing legislation affecting civil rights and public safety nationwide (source). Its meetings include senators from both major parties under leadership from a chair (source).
Last week Senators Durbin and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) sent a letter pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi about details regarding operations, staffing, priorities for this new division at DOJ—and requested clarification about Vice President Vance's comments suggesting it could be directed from outside DOJ control by being "run out of White House," raising concerns over prosecutorial independence (source).
Video footage and audio recordings from this committee hearing are available online.
