Attorneys for a Somali-born U.S. citizen charged with attempting to bomb a Christmas-tree lighting ceremony have asked a court to bar Attorney General Eric Holder from speaking about the case.

Somali-born U.S. citizen Mohamed Osman Mohamud was arrested last month on charges he attempted to bomb a Christmas-tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Ore. Mohamud was arrested after undercover FBI agents provided him with bomb materials, authorities said.

The FBI has come under fire for its tactics in the case and others involving Muslims. Holder recently defended the undercover tactics, saying in a speech: “Those who characterize the FBI’s activities in this case as ‘entrapment’ simply do not have their facts straight – or do not have a full understanding of the law.”

Lawyers for Mohamud on Monday filed a motion in federal court accusing Holder of prejudicing the pool of potential jurors. Holder has strongly denied suggestions that Mohamud was a victim of government entrapment. Attorneys say Holder’s statements violate constraints placed on pretrial public comments by prosecutors under federal rules and the rules of due-process.

At a news conference after Mohamud’s arrest, Holder said the suspect had declined “a number of opportunities” to back out of the alleged bomb plot and added that he was confident that “no entrapment claim will be found to be successful.”

In the motion the attorneys seek a court order “prohibiting the attorney general from engaging in inappropriate pretrial comment.” They continue: “The attorney general’s remarks go far beyond the fact of the indictment and any legitimate policy issues, instead discussing the merits of Mr. Mohamud’s case.”

In a statement Tuesday, the Justice Department said Holder’s “comments have been appropriate and entirely consistent with [DOJ's] filings in court. We will answer the motion in court and look forward to trying the case there,” Reuters reported.