Attorney General Merrick Garland was peppered with questions about former President Donald Trump and the January 6 criminal grand jury during a press conference on the Breonna Taylor case.

On Thursday, Garland and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke held a press conference to announce new federal charges against four current and former Louisville police officers in the wrongful killing of Breonna Taylor during a no-knock raid.

Both AG Garlland and Assistant AG Clarke took questions following the announcement, including a flurry of “news of the day” questions about Trump, his associates, and the grand jury at the end:

REPORTER 1: The grand jury here in Washington has issued subpoenas for top members of the Trump administration. Is there a window to bring charges in that investigation before the midterms?

ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND: This is something I can’t comment about. I’m sorry.

REPORTER 2: Mr. Attorney General, does the– does Donald Trump, as a former president, have any ability to block testimony of witnesses, of witnesses who are testifying in a criminal grand jury investigation by asserting executive privilege?

ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND: No. I’m afraid I’m going to give you the same answer I just gave, which is I’m not able to comment about that.

REPORTER 2: Does any former president?

The nature of the questions was such that Garland was unable to comment, but the exchange illustrates the degree to which the investigations into the plot to overturn the election are heating up. Garland can’t seem to go anywhere these days without being asked about Trump and January 6, and has frequently offered tantalizing comments about the investigations.

And while he hasn’t addressed claims of executive privilege, Garland did address the effect of elections on his timetable. In a recent interview, NBC News’ Lester Holt asked Garland “if Donald Trump were to become a candidate for president again, that would not change your schedule or how you move forward or don’t move forward?”

Garland replied that “we will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”

Watch above via C-SPAN.

The post WATCH: Attorney General Merrick Garland Peppered with Trump, Grand Jury Questions at Breonna Taylor Press Conference first appeared on Mediaite.

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