US Attorney General Merrick Garland has defended his stewardship of the Justice Department in a combative display on Capitol Hill, where he accused Republicans of attacking the rule of law while telling them he “will not be intimidated.”
Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Garland accused Republican members of Congress of engaging in conspiracy theories and spreading false stories.
“I will not be intimidated,” Garland told lawmakers. “And the judiciary will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our work, free from political influence. And we will not shy away from defending our democracy.”
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Garland’s fiery speech hit back hard at the claim that the prosecution of Donald Trump — in the hush-money case that resulted in the president’s conviction on 34 charges last week — was “somehow controlled by the Department of Justice.”
He described Republican attacks on the Justice Department under his watch as “unprecedented and unwarranted,” and vowed not to let them influence his decision-making.
Garland also blasted Trump for claiming the FBI was “authorized to shoot him dead” when they raided his Mar-a-Lago, Florida home in 2022 to retrieve classified documents.
“This is dangerous,” Garland told the committee. “It increases the threat of violence against prosecutors and career police officers. The accusation is false.”
Garland, 71, is currently overseeing special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump, as well as the prosecution of Joe Biden’s son Hunter. He was called to testify amid Republican claims that the Justice Department was “weaponized” against the former president, a claim that Trump has fueled.
His action came as he faced the possibility of being held in contempt of Congress for refusing to hand over audio recordings of an interview between another special counsel, Robert Hur. Hur was appointed by Garland to investigate Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, a crime similar to some of the offenses for which Trump is being investigated.
Hur concluded that Biden had committed no crime, but raised questions about Biden’s age and his allegedly poor memory.
Referring to Republican threats to hold him in contempt, Garland said: “I view contempt as a serious matter. But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”
A full transcript of Biden’s interview with Hur was made public. But the White House rejected Republican demands to release the audio, arguing that it served no useful purpose other than to allow the president’s opponents to splice the recording to make him appear confused, perhaps because of his stutter to emphasize.
Garland said releasing the audio could have the effect of deterring future witnesses from cooperating with Justice Department investigations if they thought their words would be made public.
In his opening statement, he said Republicans “sought contempt as a means to obtain – without legitimate purpose – sensitive law enforcement information that could damage the integrity of future investigations.”
“This effort is just the latest in a long line of attacks on the work of the Justice Department,” he added.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan – a right-wing Republican from Ohio – set the tone for the hearing, saying: “Justice is no longer blind in America. Today it is driven by politics. Example number one is President Trump.”
Matt Gaetz, another far-right Florida Republican, accused Garland of sending a former Justice Department official, Matthew Colangelo, to Manhattan, where he now serves as an assistant district attorney and helped prepare the case against Trump.
Garland responded, “That’s not true. I didn’t send Colangelo.’
