U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley made U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland cry at a committee hearing.
Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
No, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley didn’t make U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland cry in committee hearing
If Your Time is short
- Video footage from this Senate Judiciary Committee hearing shows that U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., didn’t make U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland cry.
On March 1, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing about oversight of the Justice Department.
Among the committee members to question Garland was Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who — in his own words — "grilled" Garland. But he didn’t make him cry, as a recent Facebook post claims.
"WATCH: Josh Hawley makes Garland CRIES loud at hearing with SH0.CKING reveal over ‘Trump’s r.aid," reads an oddly punctuated and grammatically incorrect March 6 Facebook post caption.
A video clip of the hearing in the Facebook post is wrongly labeled "March 5, 2023."
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
In the original video, which interested viewers can watch in full on C-SPAN’s website, Garland neither weeps nor shouts, depending on your interpretation of the word "cry."
Rather, Hawley asks Garland about a March 1 Washington Post article that described months of disputes between FBI agents and prosecutors over how to best recover classified documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Featured Fact-check
Early in the clip in the Facebook post, Hawley’s time to speak expires, and the attorney general is then questioned by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Neither of these senators made Garland cry, either.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 6, 2023
Josh Hawley, Hawley Grills Garland for DOJ Attacks on People of Faith, Mar-a-Lago Raid, March 1, 2023
The Washington Post, Showdown before the raid: FBI agents and prosecutors argued over Trump, March 1, 2023
C-SPAN, Justice Department Oversight Hearing, March 1, 2023
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
No, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley didn’t make U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland cry in committee hearing
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.