Merrick Garland Responds to Trump Trial Claims in House Hearing

(Left) Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, on Oct. 24, 2022. (Right) Former President Donald Trump at an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday responded to claims that the Department of Justice (DOJ) worked with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to target former President Donald Trump.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, Mr. Garland said that claims that the DOJ is involved in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against President Trump, which resulted in a conviction last week, is a “conspiracy theory.”

There are “false claims that a jury verdict in a state trial, brought by a local district attorney, was somehow controlled by the Justice Department. That conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself,” the attorney general said. He did not provide further details and did not discuss certain allegations about a former DOJ official having been hired by Mr. Bragg’s office to coordinate the Trump case.

President Trump and several Republicans have alleged that the DOJ was involved with the Bragg investigation and case, noting that a former DOJ official, Matthew Colangelo, was hired by the district attorney’s office after leaving the Justice Department. He was hired in December 2022, or months before the investigation into whether President Trump falsified business records began.

Several weeks ago, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote that he is concerned about Mr. Colangelo being the lead prosecutor in the Trump trial.

“That a former senior Biden Justice Department official is now leading the prosecution of President Biden’s chief political rival only adds to the perception that the Biden Justice Department is politicized and weaponized,” Mr. Jordan wrote in the letter.

In that letter, Mr. Jordan demanded that Mr. Garland provide various records related to Mr. Colangelo’s work in the DOJ as well as any possible communication between Mr. Bragg’s office and the DOJ in connection to President Trump or his companies.

“Given the perception that the Justice Department is assisting in Bragg’s politicized prosecution, we write to request information and documents related to Mr. Colangelo’s employment,” Mr. Jordan wrote. He added that Mr. Colangelo’s employment history “demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime.”

The attorney general on Tuesday criticized Republican lawmakers on the House panel, saying that he “will not be intimidated,” and “we will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”

“It comes alongside threats to defund particular department investigations, most recently the special counsel’s prosecution of the former president,” Mr. Garland added.

President Trump still faces three other state or federal criminal cases, two brought by special counsel Jack Smith over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents, and a state case in Georgia, also tied to his actions in the 2020 White House race.

Republicans have alleged all four cases are politically motivated and represent an effort by President Trump’s rival, President Joe Biden, to interfere in the Nov. 5, 2024, election.

“Many Americans believe there is now a double standard in our justice system,” Mr. Jordan, the House Judiciary chairman, said on Tuesday. “They believe that because there is.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday asked Mr. Garland several times about whether he had “dispatched” Mr. Colangelo to work with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

“It’s false,” Mr. Garland replied. “I did not dispatch Mr. Colangelo anywhere.”

The attorney general also pushed back on the Judiciary Committee’s threats to hold him in contempt of Congress. “I view contempt as a serious matter,” he said. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”

A judge has set a sentencing date for President Trump of July 11. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying they’re part of a longstanding effort to imperil his reelection chances.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon declined to impose a gag order barring President Trump from making comments after he said that FBI agents were “locked and loaded” during their raid targeting his Mar-a-Lago residence in a separate case. Mr. Smith, the special counsel, has since renewed a gag order request.

Mr. Garland and the FBI have both said that the FBI agents used the bureau’s standard operating procedure when conducting the search.

Reuters contributed to this report.