Matt Gaetz has asked the independent watchdog of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate special counsel Jack Smith. It is his contention that Smith is using his mandate to set court dates in order to interfere with the election. Duh. What do you think? Did you know that snakes refuse to bite Smith. Professional courtesy, don’t you know.
In the Wednesday letter that Gaetz sent to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz about Smith putting pressure on the Supreme Court to make sure he can bring Trump to trial on bogus charges before the November election. The Supreme Court must rule on whether President Trump has a legitimate claim of immunity before his trial can start. His hearing is set for April 25th and a judgement will be announced by June.
There is a section of the Justice Manual that says prosecutors “may never select the timing of any action, including investigative steps, criminal charges, or statements, for the purpose of affecting any election, or for the purpose of giving an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”
Gaetz says:
“Specifically, that reply brief repeatedly urges ‘rapid’ review of the federal prosecution of Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump, and the incredible ‘public importance’ of the case, without once explicitly stating why the rapidity is warranted, or what the public importance is.”
“Were there a legitimate, non-election related purpose for this request, these attorneys, who have filed in appeals courts many times, would have listed such. Since charges have been filed and the defendant himself is taking a legal position on timing and lodging various appeals, that justification cannot, for example, be the rights of the defendant under the Constitution or Speedy Trial Act. So, there can be only one conclusion: Special Counsel Jack Smith sees it as of paramount importance to hold a trial before the November 2024 election, but he is unable to explicitly say so, as such a justification is in violation of Departmental policy and law.”
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELTrump has pleaded not guilty in the federal case in which he is accused of unlawfully plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. His lawyers filed to dismiss the case in October by arguing that Trump’s actions were “within the heartland” of his “official duties.” The ensuing battle over the immunity claim led to the presiding judge’s plan for a March 4 trial start date to fall by the wayside.
Gaetz told The Daily Wire that Smith’s investigation is clearly a “partisan exercise.”
“The witch hunt against President Trump by Attorney General Garland and Special Counsel Smith is a partisan exercise, and the American people know it,” Gaetz said on Wednesday. “The actions of the Special Counsel Smith to speed up the trial against President Trump violate the DOJ’s rules and the law. His public comments and his office’s briefs before the Supreme Court demonstrate that he has no reason for his actions other than to unlawfully interfere in the 2024 presidential election.”
“It is indisputable that we are already in an election season. However, the Justice Manual does not set hard dates,” Gaetz says in his letter. “It is the core of prohibited conduct that a purpose (not the purpose) of any official action of a prosecutor be to affect any election: it may be morally correct that the American people should see swift resolution of this case, perhaps with dropped charges or a Trump acquittal before the November 2024 Presidential election, but wielding Executive Branch authority in the service of this is a violation of law. Prosecutors must be held to a higher standard.”
