Attorney General Merrick B. Garland condemned conservative attacks against the Justice Department on Tuesday, sparring with Republican lawmakers and declaring the department would “not be intimidated.”
His appearance before the House Judiciary Committee prompted confrontational exchanges with some of his most ardent Republican critics, as the hours-long hearing touched on the criminal prosecutions against former President Donald Trump and a dispute about audio recordings of a special counsel’s interview with President Joe Biden.
The GOP-controlled panel, along with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, voted last month to recommend holding Garland in contempt of Congress. House Republicans voted after the attorney general declined to release the audio. They have a transcript of the interviews.
