Watch LIVE: Attorney General, FBI Director Confront Congress Amid Growing Political and International Tensions

Washington — Weeks after the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a contempt of congressional resolution against him, Attorney General Merrick Garland will appear before the committee for an oversight hearing, during which he is expected to object to the decision as unfounded and serving “no legitimate purpose.”

House Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight committees voted last month to move forward with contempt resolutions against Garland for defying their request to audio recordings of the federal investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified files.

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’s interview with Mr. Biden because the president asserted executive privilege over the audio. Prosecutors previously released the transcript of the deposition and it remains unclear whether the contempt vote will come before the full House for a vote.

According to a portion of Garland’s prepared remarks obtained by CBS News, the attorney general is expected to take a more defiant tone than in previous hearings, telling the committee, “I will not be intimidated.” And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our work without political influence and we will not back down in defending our democracy.

The Justice Department argued that handing over the actual recording of Mr. Biden’s interview risked crippling future investigations.

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

THE special advocatewho was appointed by Garland to lead the investigation, chose not to charge Mr. Biden in the probe, but criticized his handling of classified files and questioned whether prosecutors would have been able to convince a jury to convict Mr. Biden, given his age and memory.

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

The White House and Mr. Biden rejected Hur’s characterizations of the president’s recall in the interview and argued that the transcript offered a more complete depiction of the deposition.

Hur is not the only special advocate Garland named during his three years leading the Justice Department, and he’s likely not the only independent investigator Garland will have to answer to during his testimony Tuesday.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed two lawsuits against former President Donald Trump – one related to the 2020 election and another related to his handling of classified records. Meanwhile, Special Counsel David Weiss, a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney from Delaware, is currently in the middle of a lawsuit against the president’s son, Hunter Biden. He alleged that Hunter Biden illegally purchased a gun while using drugs.

Trump and Hunter Biden have pleaded not guilty, denied any wrongdoing and accused the Justice Department of letting politics influence investigations, accusations from 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. “This comes with threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special prosecutor’s prosecution of the former president.”

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement before the testimony that Garland would highlight the department’s work throughout his tenure and “forcefully push back against false narratives about department employees and their work.”

Garland’s three years at the helm of the Justice Department have yielded results in what he considers to be departmental priorities, including war crimes allegations filed in connection with the Russian offensive in Ukraine, antitrust lawsuits filed against industry giants like Apple and Ticketmaster and efforts to curb competition. 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 against career officials at the Department of Justice,” Garland told Congress Tuesday.

It should in particular address Trump’s conviction in New York state court last week on 34 counts, calling insinuations by Trump and his supporters that the Justice Department was involved “false.”

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

“These repeated attacks on the Justice Department are unprecedented and unfounded… 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 appeared before the House committee.

In his final appearance at the Capitol, Wray warned: “I would have a hard time imagining a time when so many threats to our public safety and our national security were so high at the same time. » He is likely to reiterate these concerns on Tuesday afternoon.

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

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

Since then, Smith, the special prosecutor 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 in August 2022. Smith alleged last month that Trump had “grossly misrepresented these standard practices by falsely portraying them as a plan to kill him, his family and U.S. Secret Service agents.” His social media posts and campaign emails on the subject, prosecutors wrote, “pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement officers.”

Trump opposed the move, and the federal judge in the case has yet to rule on the matter and has requested additional information in the coming weeks.

In a statement, the FBI said: “The FBI followed standard protocol in this search, as we do with all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered further action to be taken and there was no action. a deviation from the norm in this area. »