‘I won’t be intimidated’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland sharply rebuked what he described as unprecedented attacks on the Justice Department on Tuesday, telling Republicans who tried to hold him in contempt that he “will not be intimidated.”

During a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Garland condemned the “conspiracy theory” promoted by Donald Trump’s allies that the department was behind Trump’s New York state court case in which the former Republican president was convicted. on 34 criminal charges.

Garland called the baseless allegation “an attack on the judicial process itself.”

And Garland resisted the “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods” being spread about the FBI, as well as threats to defund former President Trump’s special counsel proceedings.

His appearance came as Republicans moved to dismiss him as disrespectful over the Biden administration’s refusal to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, which focused on the president’s handling of classified documents.

A transcript of Biden’s interview was released, but the president asserted executive privilege over the audio last month to block its release. The White House said Republican lawmakers only want the audio so they can cut it up and use it for political purposes.

The Justice Department argued that witnesses may be less likely to cooperate if they know their interviews could become public. Garland told lawmakers he would not “jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”

“I won’t be intimidated,” Garland said. “And the Department of Justice will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our work free from political influence. And we will not give up defending our democracy.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee’s top Republican, criticized Garland in his opening statement for a wide range of what he described as politically motivated decisions by federal authorities — including the conclusions of different special counsels that Trump criminally manipulated classified documents while Biden did. no.

“Many Americans believe there is now a double standard in our judicial system. They believe in it because it exists,” Jordan said.