This week, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a bill “to prohibit federal funding for the Special Counsel’s Office of John ‘Jack’ L. Smith following the politicization of and lack of transparency in his investigation.”
The Panhandle congressman’s office offered some of the details behind the proposal.
“Rep. Gaetz’s bill would block federal funds authorized or appropriated by federal law or any funds in any trust fund of the federal government from being used for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and investigation. On July 18th, 2023, President Donald J. Trump released a statement indicating he is the target of the investigation by Special Counsel Smith related to January 6th. This indicates Special Counsel Smith’s office has engaged in election interference by using his investigation to go after President Trump, who public polling has indicated is the leading contender in the 2024 Republican primary for president. In addition, his office has lacked transparency, failing to answer correspondence from my office to produce specific documents related to his staff and the investigation,” Gaetz’s office noted.
“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 Gaetz. “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.”
Gaetz’s bill was sent to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. So far, there are no House co-sponsors and no companion bill over in the U.S. Senate.
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