Rep. Matt Gaetz has introduced legislation prohibiting federal funding for the Special Counsel’s Office investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome.
Mr. Gaetz’s bill would block any authorized or appropriated federal funds or any federal trust-fund money from being used for special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury and investigation.
“The government is being weaponized to go after President Donald J. Trump. The House of Representatives must defund Jack Smith’s office and end the witch hunt,” said Mr. Gaetz, Florida Republican.
The Office of Special Counsel declined to comment.
Mr. Gaetz acknowledged that his effort would almost certainly fail, but said lawmakers should be forced to take a stand on the issue.
“The power of the purse is not some intermittent thing that we wield every fiscal cycle. It’s something that we have to wield day in and day out to achieve victory for our people and to stop this. I’m under no illusion that the Democrats will bring such legislation up in the Senate, but the American people deserve to know where members of Congress stand,” he said.
SEE ALSO: Trump defiant as special counsel moves toward indictment for Capitol riot
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump released a statement on Truth Social saying that he is the target of a grand jury investigation, citing a letter he received Sunday from Mr. Smith related to his probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Such a letter “almost always means an arrest and indictment,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Gaetz says that this shows Mr. Smith’s office has engaged in election interference by using his investigative powers against the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Additionally, the Florida Republican says Mr. Smith’s office has lacked transparency and failed to answer correspondence from his office to produce specific documents related to staffing and the investigation.
In a separate case, Mr. Smith charged the former president last month with 37 felony counts related to mishandling classified documents. Mr. Trump surrendered at a federal courthouse enveloped by hundreds of his supporters and swarming with media coverage.
Mr. Trump entered a not guilty plea on all charges.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Rep. Matt Gaetz in one instance.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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