WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is facing what is likely to be aggressive questioning Wednesday by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on topics ranging from the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at The Associated Press to the government's handling of intelligence before the Boston Marathon bombings.

The panel's chairman, Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte (GUD'-lat), also says he is concerned about the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, which is now the focus of an investigation by Holder's Justice Department.

At a news conference Tuesday, Holder defended the subpoenas to the AP and disclosed that the department is investigating the IRS for giving tea party groups extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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