EXCLUSIVE — Attorney General Merrick Garland will emphasize the Department of Justice’s accomplishments on Wednesday during what is expected to be a heated hearing in which Republicans plan to grill the attorney general over their concerns the department has been weaponized against conservatives.
In written testimony Garland submitted ahead of the hearing, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, he said he has “reinforced” or “updated” departmental policies to prevent “partisan influence in law enforcement investigations.”
BIDEN CONCEDES TO DONORS ‘A LOT OF PEOPLE’ ARE ‘FOCUSED ON MY AGE’
While Garland is expected to face pointed questions from Republicans about the special counsel prosecutions of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and former President Donald Trump, the attorney general does mention those issues in his written testimony.
The attorney general praises the work of DOJ staff, citing “the courage, dedication, and integrity of the professionals who make up the Justice Department’s workforce.”
Garland also touts early on in his statement that the government has arrested more than 1,100 in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and that prosecutors have secured a “wide range” of convictions, which have included anywhere from common trespassing violations to rare seditious conspiracy charges.
The department “is committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for the January 6 assault on our democracy,” Garland states. “And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again.”
Garland is also expected, according to his statement, to highlight a number of other areas of the department’s work, including vetting threats made to public officials, combating war crimes in Ukraine, countering terrorism and cyber crimes, tackling drug and gun-related crimes, and providing grant money to local law enforcement.
The attorney general also infused comments into his statement that align with Democrats’ political agenda, including emphasizing a departmental push for less restrictive voting laws, “environmental justice,” and “advancing reproductive freedom” in the year following Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
Garland’s appearance comes as the DOJ has faced intense scrutiny from Republicans about what they perceive as partisan enforcement of the law, particularly in the wake of special counsels Jack Smith and David Weiss bringing historic indictments against the former president and the current president’s son.
They contend that Smith has unfairly targeted Trump, whereas Weiss has allowed Hunter Biden to skirt by with light charges, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Republicans will broach these issues on Wednesday.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Additionally, Jordan said Republicans plan to raise a federal judge’s findings in Missouri v. Biden that the FBI worked with social media companies to censor certain online content.
They also plan to confront Garland about “a host of other issues, the school board issue, the Catholic memo where the attacks on pro-life Catholics, the FACE Act, different things we’ll talk about, as well,” Jordan said.
Read the testimony below:
