Greene, Gaetz renew calls to defund Jack Smith over latest Trump indictment
Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) are renewing their calls to defund the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who on Tuesday indicted former President Trump on charges stemming from his efforts to remain in power following the 2020 election.
Trump was charged with four counts Tuesday, capping off days of anticipation that began after the former president disclosed that he received a letter informing him he was a target of the investigation.
Gaetz, a staunch Trump supporter, introduced a bill to prohibit federal funding for Smith’s office shortly after Trump’s announcement, an effort he renewed calls for on Tuesday as news broke of Trump’s indictment.
“DEFUND JACK SMITH'S WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!” Gaetz wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Greene echoed that call Tuesday, writing on X just before the indictment was handed down, “I will not fund Jack Smith’s special counsel.” She also said she would utilize the Holman rule “to defund his office.”
The Holman rule allows lawmakers to propose amendments to appropriations bills that cut the salaries of specific federal workers down to $1, effectively defunding them.
“Jack Smith is a terrible attorney with a lot of failures in his career. Now, he’s abusing his power, the power of the special counsel, and the power of the Department of Injustice,” Greene said in her tweet.
“President Trump is innocent and we must end the witch hunts!” she added.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), a co-sponsor of Gaetz’s bill, also called attention to the legislation amid news of Trump’s indictment, urging his congressional colleagues to back the measure.
“Another sham indictment from Biden’s Department of Injustice! This is a blatant attempt by the Left to tamper with our elections. I urge my House and Senate colleagues to immediately support @RepMattGaetz’s bill, as I have, to defund this witch hunt,” he wrote on X.
Tuesday’s indictment charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. He will make his first court appearance in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
It is his third indictment this year: He was charged in Manhattan earlier this year in relation to an alleged hush money scheme, and in another probe led by Smith that focused on his handling of classified documents. Trump has pleaded not guilty.