Attorney general, FBI director to face Congress amid rising political and international tensions

washington — Weeks after the House Judiciary Committee voted to move forward with a disrespect for Congress resolution Against him, Attorney General Merrick Garland will appear before the panel for a supervisory hearing, where he will react against the measure, considering it unfounded and serving “no legitimate purpose.”

House Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight Committees voted last month to advance contempt resolutions against Garland for defying their request for audio recordings of the federal investigation into President Biden’s handling of confidential records.

The Justice Department said on the eve of the contempt vote that it could not comply with Congress’ subpoena for a recording of the former special counsel Robert Hur Interview with Mr. Biden because the president asserted executive privilege over the audio. Prosecutors had already released a transcript of the testimony and it remains unclear whether the contempt vote will be brought to the House floor for a vote.

According to a portion of Garland’s prepared remarks obtained by CBS News, the attorney general is expected to strike a more defiant tone than in previous hearings, telling the committee, “I will not be intimidated. And the Department of Justice will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our work free from political influence and will not give up defending our democracy.”

The Justice Department argued that turning over the recording of Biden’s interview ran the risk of hindering future investigations.

“I view contempt as a serious matter,” Garland is expected to say on Tuesday. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”

O special lawyerwho was appointed by Garland to lead the investigation, chose not to charge Biden as part of the investigation, but criticized his handling of confidential records and questioned whether prosecutors would have been able to convince a jury to convict Biden given his age and memory.

In response to last month’s claim of executive privilege, Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed: “President Biden is asserting executive privilege for the same reason we need the audio recordings – they offer a unique perspective.”

The White House and Biden rejected Hur’s characterizations of the president’s impeachment in the interview and argued that the transcript offered a more complete representation of the testimony.

Hur is not the only special counsel Garland appointed in his three years leading the Justice Department, and he likely isn’t the only independent investigator Garland will have to answer to when he testifies Tuesday.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has opened two cases against former President Donald Trump — one tied to the 2020 election and another related to his handling of confidential records. Meanwhile, Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump-appointed Delaware lawyer, is currently in the midst of a trial against the president’s son, Hunter Biden. He alleged that Hunter Biden illegally purchased a firearm while using drugs.

Both Trump and Hunter Biden have pleaded not guilty, denied any wrongdoing and accused the Justice Department of allowing politics to influence investigations, accusations from both the political right and left that Garland has rejected.

“[The contempt threat] is just the latest in a long line of attacks on the work of the Justice Department,” the attorney general is expected to tell Congress on Tuesday. “It comes alongside threats to defund specific Department investigations, most recently the Special Counsel’s prosecution of the former president. ”

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement ahead of the testimony that Garland will highlight the department’s work during his tenure and “strongly reject false narratives about Department employees and their work.”

Garland’s three years at the helm of the Justice Department produced results on what he said were department priorities, including war crimes allegations brought in connection with Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, antitrust cases brought against corporate giants like Apple and Ticketmaster. and efforts to curb violent crime.

Still, Tuesday’s testimony from the attorney general and the panel’s questions will likely highlight partisan political tensions.

“We are seeing heinous threats of violence directed at career public servants at the Department of Justice,” Garland told Congress on Tuesday.

Notably, it will also address Trump’s conviction in New York state court last week on 34 criminal charges, calling “false” insinuations by Trump and his supporters that the Justice Department was involved.

“This conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself,” Garland will say, according to a copy of his comments obtained by CBS News.

“These repeated attacks on the Department of Justice are unprecedented and baseless… These attacks have not – and will not – influence our decision-making.”

One of the Justice Department’s top officials, FBI Director Christopher Wray, is scheduled to appear before a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee hours after the attorney general faces the House committee.

During his most recent appearance on Capitol Hill, Wray warned, “It would be difficult to think of a time when so many threats to our public safety and national security were so heightened at the same time.” He is likely to reiterate those concerns on Tuesday afternoon.

The FBI director told Congress in April the continued conflict in Gaza has sparked an increase in threats against the US, with the most imminent danger posed by those seeking to carry out attacks on US soil.

During that testimony earlier this year, Wray, like Garland, also warned of “increasing threats” against agents and facilities. “Having a badge is quite dangerous. It shouldn’t make you a target either,” he said.

Since then, Smith, the special counsel investigating Trump, asked a federal judge to limit the former president’s public comments after Trump made false claims that FBI agents were “authorized to shoot” him while executing a court-authorized search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022. Smith alleged last month that Trump had “grossly distorted these standard practices, mischaracterizing them as a plot to kill him, his family and U.S. Secret Service agents.” His social media posts and campaign emails on the issue, prosecutors wrote, “pose a significant, imminent and foreseeable danger to law enforcement officials.”

Trump opposed the measure and the federal judge overseeing the case has not yet ruled on the matter and has asked for more information in the coming weeks.

In a statement, the FBI said: “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search, as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. deviation from the norm in this matter.”