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Mitch McConnell backs Merrick Garland for attorney general

24 February 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Politico Tuesday that he plans to support Judge Merrick Garland's nomination for attorney general.

Why it matters: McConnell blocked Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, a move he called the "most consequential thing I've ever done."

Of note: When asked by Politico whether he backed Garland for attorney general, McConnell said, "I do."

The big picture: McConnell is the latest key Republican to indicate support for Garland in this role. Others to back Garland after previously blocking his path to the Supreme Court include Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

  • The vote for Garland's nomination is due take place in the Senate Judiciary Committee March 1.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.