Senator Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, used his opening remarks to raise a series of oversight concerns about Justice Department grant decisions, the Vera Institute of Justice, and FBI recordkeeping and conduct, and he called for additional inquiry.

Durbin said he had begun examining redirected grant funds and that he was “releasing a short report today compiling publicly available information on just 2 of the grant recipients.” He singled out the Vera Institute of Justice and stated, “Vera is a George Soros backed organization. It's received at least $10,000,000 in donations from George Soros.” Durbin framed these donations as part of a broader pattern he described as efforts to support progressive prosecutors.

Durbin also discussed classified or restricted FBI materials and access rules. He said an FBI document he released showed Nellie Orr’s firm “lied to Congress” about the Steele dossier and that access restrictions on Mueller-era materials “prevented the FBI agents from assessing FBI records.” He said the committee received Biden-era FBI documents showing the use of anti-Catholic sources in multiple FBI memoranda and added, “Based on those FBI records, it appears that director Ray lied to the congress when he testified before this committee.”

Durbin referenced a series of legal and investigatory authorities and terms while arguing for oversight, saying the committee should call Attorney General Bondi under oath. He also cited the Foreign Agent Registration Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section (PEN) while alleging the current administration had weakened corruption-fighting structures.

These statements were delivered as part of opening statements and, as reflected in the transcript, did not lead to a formal vote or committee action during the session. Durbin said oversight on these topics “has just begun” and urged further hearings; the transcript records his repeated request that the committee investigate the described matters.