Trump enlists Capitol Hill allies to protect him before third indictment.
Trump Enlists Top Allies to Defend Against Criminal Indictment
As Donald Trump prepares to face his third criminal indictment of the year, the former president is rallying his top allies on Capitol Hill to come to his defense.
Trump recently spoke with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to strategize how Republican lawmakers can mount a strong defense against the possible criminal charges, according to sources.
The conversations took place after Trump revealed that he is the target of an investigation into the Jan. 6 riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith informed Trump about the investigation.
GOP Leaders Prepare to Defend Trump
It remains unclear how GOP leaders will brief members on defending Trump, but sources suggest that they will advise allies to go on the offense against Smith and the investigation itself.
Several Republican lawmakers have already come forward to support Trump, denouncing the investigation as politically motivated and aimed at sabotaging President Joe Biden’s top 2024 challenger.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of Trump’s staunchest allies, strongly criticized the investigation, calling Smith a “little b****.”
“It’s absolute bulls***. That’s my reaction. This is the only way that the Democrats have to beat President Trump is to arrest him, smear him, charge him with ridiculous charges, all in a cover-up of Joe Biden’s crimes, Hunter Biden’s crimes,” Greene expressed. “It’s unbelievable, it’s hard to even recognize that this is our country.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) also plans to introduce legislation to defund Smith’s investigation, accusing the special counsel of election interference.
The movement on Capitol Hill comes shortly after Trump posted on Truth Social that Smith sent him a letter, giving him only four days to report to a grand jury as part of the investigation. Trump believes that such a notification typically leads to an arrest and indictment.
“So now, Joe Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland… together with Joe Biden’s Department of Injustice, have effectively issued a third indictment and arrest of Joe Biden’s number one political opponent, who is largely dominating him in the race for the Presidency,” Trump wrote. “This witch hunt is all about election interference and a complete and total political weaponization of law enforcement! It is a very sad and dark period for our Nation!”
Investigation Intensifies
The latest development comes as the special counsel’s office intensifies its investigation into Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss to Biden in 2020 and his conduct during the Jan. 6 riot.
Smith is leading the DOJ effort, calling witnesses to shed light on meetings Trump held in December 2020 and January 2021 to discuss actions aimed at overturning the election. The investigation also focuses on the former president’s pressure campaign on former Vice President Mike Pence to assist with those efforts on Jan. 6.
Smith has already issued subpoenas to local officials in battleground states where Trump sought to overturn election results, requesting communications with the former president in the weeks following the 2020 election. The special counsel’s team also met with former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani earlier this year to gain insight into Trump’s thinking after his reelection loss.
The investigation aims to uncover what Trump instructed his attorneys and senior officials to do as part of their bid to change the 2020 election outcome. Previous reporting suggests that there are two other potential paths that could lead to additional scrutiny of Trump, including charges of seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct a government proceeding, as well as fraud in connection to the false electors plot or his efforts to pressure the DOJ to overturn the election results.
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