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Attorney General Merrick Garland forcefully rebuked congressional Republicans who have accused the Justice Department of political bias as he opened a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

ÔÇ£I am not the presidentÔÇÖs lawyer,ÔÇØ Garland said in his opening statement. ÔÇ£I will also add that I am not CongressÔÇÖs prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people.ÔÇØ

He said that the Justice DepartmentÔÇÖs job is ÔÇ£to pursue justice, without fear or favorÔÇØ and not to ÔÇ£do what is politically convenientÔÇØ or ÔÇ£take orders from the President, from Congress, or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.ÔÇØ

Garland delivered the statement as he faces vitriol from Republicans, who accuse him of failing to protect the department from politicization, and dissatisfaction from Democrats, who say the department has been too timid in going after former President Donald Trump.

Republicans on the panel are expected to grill Garland with questions about the investigation into President Joe BidenÔÇÖs son Hunter Biden and his now-scuttled plea deal, as well as special counsel Jack SmithÔÇÖs two indictments of Trump.

ÔÇ£The fix is in. Even with the face-saving indictment last week of Hunter Biden, everyone knows the fix is in,ÔÇØ House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said in his opening statement.

Against that backdrop, Garland told lawmakers that the department welcomes ÔÇ£public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate oversight,ÔÇØ but ÔÇ£singling out individual career public servants who are just doing their jobs is dangerous ÔÇô particularly at a time of increased threats to the safety of public servants and their families.ÔÇØ

ÔÇ£We will not be intimidated,ÔÇØ Garland said. ÔÇ£We will do our jobs free from outside interference. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.ÔÇØ

WednesdayÔÇÖs hearing is likely to offer a preview of the House RepublicanÔÇÖs impeachment inquiry into the president ÔÇô which will have its first hearing next week ÔÇô and the partisan brawling that will accompany it.

The bulk of the allegations Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Republicans are investigating in the impeachment inquiry relate to Hunter BidenÔÇÖs business dealings, though Republicans have uncovered no evidence to date that the president personally received any money. The House Judiciary Committee has also been probing allegations from an IRS whistleblower that the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden was politically tainted.

Despite the partisan rancor of the political probes and the looming impeachment inquiry, Garland is unlikely to say much about either the Hunter Biden or Trump investigations because they are ongoing.

Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the panelÔÇÖs top Democrat, charged that Republicans had ÔÇ£poisonedÔÇØ the committeeÔÇÖs oversight role.

ÔÇ£House Republicans will use their time today to talk about long-discredited conspiracy theories and Hunter BidenÔÇÖs laptop. And they will do it because they care more about Donald Trump than they do about their own constituents,ÔÇØ Nadler said.

Jordan started an investigation into Hunter BidenÔÇÖs now-scuttled plea deal in July, and heÔÇÖs asked US Attorney-turned special counsel David Weiss, who negotiated the plea agreement with Hunter Biden, to testify before the committee in October.

The IRS whistleblower, Gary Shapley, has alleged that Weiss said at an October 2022 meeting that he was not the deciding authority on whether to bring charges against Hunter Biden. Weiss, however, denied he made that assertion, and others in the meeting have testified they donÔÇÖt remember him saying that, either.

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