House Republicans claim Attorney General Merrick Garland is weaponizing the Justice Department for political purposes, targeting Donald Trump while protecting President Biden.
Lawmakers accuse AG Garland of operating a two-tiered justice system. Garland called the corruption accusations inflammatory, stating they have led to unprecedented threats against the DOJ. He grew emotional as he defended his commitment to the rule of law, promising to remain impartial.
"I will not be intimidated – and the DOJ will not be intimidated and will continue to do our jobs free from political influence and we will not back down from democracy," said Garland.
Republicans followed his opening statements with questions aimed at the weaponization of the DOJ.
"When we, on the Judiciary Committee, think about attacks on the judicial process," said Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R). "Our concerns are the facts and the law is not being followed. A target is acquired, here – Trump – and you assembled the legal talent from the DOJ, Mr. Pomerantz (author of People vs. Donald Trump), and you bring everyone in to 'get him.' And meanwhile, the judge is making money on it!"
Garland then argued that the Manhattan District Attorney's office operates "completely independent" of him and the DOJ. California Rep. Adam Schiff (D) framed his questions to counter claims that President Biden weaponized the DOJ to support his bid to hold on to the White House.
"Did you appoint Alvin Bragg to be Manhattan DA?" asked Schiff. "No," replied Garland. "Of course not, he's elected," said Schiff. He went on to ask Garland if he selected the jury or judge. Garland replied, "No."
Two weeks ago, a resolution to hold Garland in contempt advanced to the full House after the DOJ refused to turn over audio of Special Counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden over his handling of classified documents.
A transcript has been made public, but President Biden asserted executive privilege over the audio last month to block its release. Rep. Andy Biggs from Arizona questioned the integrity of that transcript, demanding the audio be released.
"Your attorney said that you did alter the transcript, adding what he called 'filler words – repeat words,'" said Rep. Biggs. "Mr. Hur's findings were pretty conclusive, saying he had a poor memory, and that Mr. President was not able to answer all of the questions. Substantially, the transcript may be accurate, but the audio would tell us so much more."
The hearing comes as a Gallup Poll shows 66% of Americans view the DOJ negatively while 33% think it's doing a 'good or excellent' job. It also references that far more Republicans have a negative view of the department than Democrats.
Garland condemned Republican attacks on the Justice Department as baseless and dangerous, saying the department will not be intimidated.
"I will not be intimidated, and the DOJ will not be intimidated," Garland said. "We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence and we will not back down from democracy."
Frustrated lawmakers also noted concerns they'd rather talk about with the DOJ, including surging immigration and gun violence in America, rather than directly battling over political favorites ahead of the 2024 election.
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