Attorney General Merrick Garland excoriated House Republicans in the opening statement of a hearing expected to get highly contentious on Tuesday, accusing them of blatantly politicizing the Justice Department’s work.

“Certain members of this Committee and the Oversight Committee are seeking contempt as a means of obtaining — for no legitimate purpose — sensitive law enforcement information that could harm the integrity of future investigations,” Garland said.

“This effort is only the most recent in a long line of attacks on the Justice Department’s work,” Garland added, also pointing to a “conspiracy theory” that the Justice Department “somehow controlled” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Garland’s opening statement made it clear he planned to aggressively push back on Republican attacks during an hours-long appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. Those same GOP lawmakers are pushing to hold him in contempt for defying subpoenas to hand over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur.

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