Merrick Garland, the attorney general, plans to strongly defend the Justice Department during his appearance before Congress on Tuesday.

Attorney General Garland will deliver a strong defense of the Justice Department at an upcoming congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Garland’s strong defense of the department and federal law enforcement will likely trigger a lengthy and intense hearing with members of the House Judiciary Committee. The session is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

In his most explicit comments since his confirmation in 2020, Garland will tell the House Judiciary Committee that recent attacks on the Justice Department “are unprecedented and baseless.”

“Certain members of this Committee and the Oversight Committee are attempting, under threat of contempt, to obtain confidential law enforcement information that could compromise the integrity of potential investigations,” Garland said in prepared statements.

The attorney general was summoned to Capitol Hill for a hearing on the department’s work under his leadership, including measures to address violent crime and investigate potential threats to the U.S. from global conflicts.

But Garland, who is the subject of Republican-backed contempt lawsuits, is determined to stand up strongly to his critics.

Republicans plan to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to release audio recordings of Trump’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who carefully scrutinized his handling of classified materials and decided not to pursue a criminal prosecution.

The contempt cases come “in addition to baseless claims that the jury’s decision in the state trial, conducted by the local district attorney, was influenced by the Department of Justice,” Garland said in his remarks, referring to the New York state trial during which Trump was found guilty of fraud commercial documents.

“This conspiracy theory is an insult to the legal process itself,” Garland is reported to have said.

The attorney general will also allude to other threats arising from Trump’s federal investigations, such as “extraordinarily damaging lies” related to the FBI’s law enforcement activities and “mentions of obstructing funding for certain Department investigations,” such as in the case of special counsel Jack Smith.

“This comes at a time when we are witnessing alarming threats of violence against professional employees of the Department of Justice,” Garland is reported to have said. However, these attacks “will not influence our decision-making process.”

“I think contempt is an important issue. However, I will not jeopardize the ability of our investigators and agents to effectively perform their duties in future cases,” Garland’s remarks read. “I won’t be intimidated. And I will not be intimidated by the Department of Justice. We will continue to perform our duties without political influence. And we will not be deterred from protecting our democracy.”

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