JUST IN: Matt Gaetz Goes On Offense Against Jack Smith
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has filed an election interference complaint against Biden Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, alleging the prosecutor is attempting to unfairly influence the 2024 presidential election by pushing for an early start date in his criminal trials against former President Donald Trump.
In a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, Gaetz claims Smith is tacitly admitting his case against Trump is political in nature by pushing the U.S. Supreme Court for a “rapid” review of Trump’s immunity claims and that there is a “public importance” to the case, “without once explicitly stating why the rapidity is warranted, or what the public importance is,” Gaetz writes.
“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,” he adds. “There can only be 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.”
BREAKING: Today I’m demanding the DOJ Inspector General Horowitz to investigate the election interference against President Donald J. Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
The witch hunt against President Trump by Attorney General Garland and Special Counsel Smith is a partisan… pic.twitter.com/v5Ysg108BE
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 6, 2024
The letter, obtained by the Daily Wire, warns Horowitz about the reputational damage risked by the DOJ if Smith is allowed to pursue what Gaetz claims is a political vendetta against President Trump related to the January 6th, 2021 breach at the Capitol. As the Supreme Court considers President Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution, Smith’s case is delayed while the former president’s lawyers exhaust all appeals, moves that could potentially push the start date of a trial deep into the summer.
Citing the DOJ’s manual for conducting prosecutions, Rep. Gaetz wrote that federal 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.”
Adding to his letter, Gaetz told the Daily Wire on Wednesday that there is undoubtedly a partisan nature to Smith’s pursuit of Trump.
“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.”
