Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he is going to introduce legislation to defund special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into former President Donald Trump.
Smith filed a 37-count indictment against Trump in June regarding the handling of presidential documents, some deemed classified, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and is investigating Trump's role in the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Trump, who pleaded not guilty to the indictment, said Tuesday he received a target letter from Smith requesting him to appear in front of the Washington grand jury investigating the events of Jan. 6.
"The House of Representatives needs to take action to defund this special counsel investigation immediately," Gaetz said Tuesday on his podcast "Firebrand with Matt Gaetz."
"They are attacking our democracy and engaging in election interference right now. If the United States Congress does not have the capability to stop that election interference, then what is all the flowery oratory about preserving the republic?"
Gaetz, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the bill is designed to stop the Biden administration's Department of Justice from interfering with the 2024 presidential election, as Trump is well ahead of the other GOP primary candidates and even leads President Joe Biden in some polls.
Gaetz also said his attempts to find out who is on Smith's team have been rebuffed by the DOJ and that he wants to bring more transparency regarding who is helping Smith in his investigations.
"You remember how the understanding of the composition of [special counsel Robert Mueller's] team informed on how we saw a lot of that evidence and a lot of that legal analysis?" Gaetz asked. "They had a team of vicious Democrats. If you look at Jack Smith and his team, you ought to be able to evaluate where they've made political donations; where they've been political appointees; what their connections are to people who have skin in the game to preserve their power in Washington, D.C."
Gaetz is not the first Republican lawmaker to propose defunding Smith's investigations. After word leaked of Trump's federal indictment, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted, "This morning, I'm writing an appropriations rider to DEFUND Special Counsel Jack Smith's office and entire investigation. I will not vote for ANY appropriations bill to fund the weaponization of government. I hope every one of my Republican colleagues will join me."
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