Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said Tuesday that he plans to introduce a bill to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into potential criminal wrongdoing by former President Trump.
“In the coming hours, the coming days, I will be introducing legislation under my name, in the House of Representatives, as a freestanding bill, to defund the Jack Smith investigation,” Gaetz said on his podcast.
He added that “one reason why is the election interference feature. Another reason why: the lack of transparency.”
Gaetz’s declaration came hours after Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”
The target letter has since been confirmed by numerous news outlets, with sources saying Trump could face charges of deprivation of rights, conspiracy to commit an offense or defraud the United States, witness tampering, and obstruction of an official proceeding over his attempts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election he lost to President Biden and the related January 6, 2021 deadly insurrection upon the U.S. Capitol.
Gaetz, who nominated Trump for Speaker of the House amid Kevin McCarthy’s 15 attempts to obtain the position in January, hopes to shut down the entire investigation, though it remains unclear how his bill would “defund” the office of the special counsel. It’s also unlikely any such proposed legislation would be passed in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
