NEW: Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland is busy behind the scenes building a DOJ inner circle full of Senate aides, federal prosecutors, and former law clerks - LOTS of new names in this story by @cryanbarber ($) @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/merrick-garlan…
Merrick Garland isn't wasting any time. Insider has learned the incoming AG is busy behind the scenes building out a team of top-tier advisers who will join him in the monumental task of restoring integrity & independence to a DOJ downtrodden & demoralized from the Trump era.
Garland has drawn from his expansive, largely Ivy League-educated network of law clerks who have worked closely w/ him during his 24-year tenure as a federal appeals court judge, per people familiar with his hiring. He's also turning to ex-Senate aides & federal prosecutors.
Garland is expected to be confirmed with bipartisan support in the coming days. For the 68 yo Chicago native, it will be a capstone moment carrying some measure of vindication after seeing his nomination to fill Antonin Scalia's SCOTUS seat blocked by Senate Republicans in 2016.
In preparation for his imminent arrival as attorney general, Garland is turning to three former clerks to fill key adviser posts, including Kate Heinzelman, a former Obama White House lawyer and deputy general counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Two other past clerks of Garland's are also joining him in the AG office: Maggie Goodlander, who served as counsel to HJC in the first Trump impeachment, & Brian Fletcher, a former Stanford Law School professor who previously served in the DOJ office handling SCOTUS arguments.
Garland's clerks have landed in prominent roles elsewhere in DOJ & broader Biden administration. In January, Elizabeth Prelogar, a former Garland clerk who served as a legal adviser to Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation, was named the acting solicitor general.
Former Garland clerk, Elizabeth Wilkins, is now a top adviser to White House chief of staff Ron Klain.
Garland's team also includes Tamarra Matthews Johnson, a federal prosecutor who joined the AG's office from the USA office in N Ala., where she handled fraud & civil rights cases. Tim Visser, a trial attorney in DOJ's civil rights division, has been detailed to the AG's office.
Anthony Coley, a former communications director for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, is also serving as the incoming AG's top spox. And heading DOJ's office of legislative affairs is Helaine Greenfield, a former chief counsel to Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.
Subscribe for the full report on incoming AG's inner circle from our brand new all-star DOJ reporter @cryanbarber - plus so much more from across the @thisisinsider newsroom. Here's how to sign up: businessinsider.com/subscription
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