Trump has been strategizing with GOP leaders to plan how lawmakers will defend him in public

Donald Trump spent part of Tuesday on the phone with top House GOP leaders, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, mapping out ways Republican lawmakers can publicly, including using the power of their taxpayer-funded government offices, defend him. The former president announced Tuesday morning he has been told he is a target of the Special Counsel's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump "has reached out to some of his top allies on Capitol Hill to strategize how they’re going to defend Trump & go on offense against the special counsel probe," CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona said on social media Tuesday afternoon.

Later, CNN online called it, "the latest example of Republicans racing behind the scenes to use their power and platforms to shield the former president without knowing details yet about the criminal investigation."

"One source described the call with Stefanik as 'a long conversation,' and said the two went over her plans to go on offense through her role on the House subcommittee on alleged weaponization of the federal government, as well as her overall efforts to rally support from the House GOP conference around the former president and attack special counsel Jack Smith."

Those efforts apparently have been successful.

McCarthy, unlike his remarks immediately after the January 6, 2021 insurrection, on Tuesday falsely declared that Special Counsel Jack Smith sent Trump a "target" letter because his poll numbers went up.

Before noon Rep. Stefanik also posted a statement attacking Smith and defending Trump.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) also posted a statement in support of Trump.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who reportedly is once again under the microscope of the House Ethics Committee investigating his relationship with a 17-year old, Tuesday afternoon announced he is filing legislation to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations into Donald Trump.

On her official congressional Twitter account, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the Special Counsel "a weak little bitch for the Democrats."

Greene called Smith's efforts “absolute bullshit.”

And she falsely claimed Smith "is abusing his power to arrest President Trump."

"The Communist Democrats are trying to win the ‘24 Presidential election by arresting the People’s president, President Trump in order to cover up Joe Biden’s REAL CRIMES," Greene claimed.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who also heads the "Weaponization" subcommittee, last week used the power of his office to send a letter to House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, CNN had reported, "calling on Congress to stop funding what he describes as 'politically sensitive' investigations until the DOJ 'establishes a policy requiring non-partisan career staff to oversee such investigations.'"

Jordan also called for appropriations bills to "eliminate any funding for the FBI that is not absolutely essential for the agency to execute its mission.”