By Steve Neavling
Attorney General Merrick Garland admonished conservative attacks against the Justice Department during a fiery House committee hearing on Tuesday and said he will “not be intimidated” by lawmakers trying to hold him in contempt.
Garland denounced what he called “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods” that Donald Trump allies are spreading about federal law enforcement, the Associated Press reports. He also said it was a baseless “conspiracy theory” that the DOJ was behind the New York state court prosecution of Trump, who was convicted last week on 34 felony charges.
Garland’s defense of federal law enforcement comes as Trump and his allies continue to suggest, without evidence, that the FBI and Justice Department have been weaponized against conservatives.
Garland also blasted Republicans for trying to hold him contempt, saying it’s the latest in “a long line of attacks” against the DOJ.
“I will not be intimidated,” Garland said. “And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”
For their part, Republicans used the hearing to further their baseless claims that the DOJ has become politicized and is committed to destroying Trump’s reelection bid.
At one point, Garland became emotional.
“I have devoted my entire career to ensuring that the rule of law is the rule that the Justice Department applies and the courts apply — that we follow the precedents, that we treat like cases alike, that we do not have enemies or friends, that we do not pay attention to the political parties or the wealth, or the power, or the influence that we are investigating,” the attorney general said.
