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While Congress was in recess, former President Trump introduced two more impeachments, sparking conservative outrage. When the House returns to Washington this month, Trump’s staunchest allies will have an opportunity to use their positions to sway him.
Through the focus on the appropriations process, the investigation and the possible impeachment inquiry of President Biden, Trump supporters are already planning to use plenty of the tools at their disposal to help the former president retract the allegations. Can be tried – if not in the legal sense, then in the court of public opinion.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) said, “I am closely watching ways to withdraw indictments, especially when they are being weaponized for political purposes.”
Even Republicans who don’t explicitly say they want to defend Trump through the congressional process point to their desire to address the “weaponization” of the federal government, Propose steps or take actions that have the effect of playing a defense role for Trump.
wallet power
A top strategy of House Republicans is to use the government funding process to siphon federal dollars from those prosecuting them — or from prosecutors pursuing them.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) said, “Purse power is the most formidable tool Congress has to combat the weaponization of our justice system.” “Given the serious election interference efforts of the Left, it is imperative that we use this power to protect the integrity of our elections, restore Americans’ faith in our government, and eliminate our country’s two-tier system of justice.” use effectively.”
Clyde, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced last week that he would propose two amendments to an appropriations bill related to the Justice Department that would “prohibit the use of federal funding to prosecute any major presidential candidate prior to the upcoming election.” But will stop.” Presidential election on November 5, 2024.”
With this, Clyde took aim at special counsel Jack Smith, who has led charges against Trump related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and retain classified documents; Manhattan, NY, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump in 2016 in connection with secret money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels; and Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fannie Willis, who charged Trump again with regards to the 2020 election.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has also said she will introduce an amendment to save Smith’s office funding, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will introduce a bill to do the same in July. did. Representative Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill earlier this month to freeze Smith’s federal pay.
The Democratic-controlled Senate would surely reject any attempt to save money on prosecutors. And getting the House GOP votes to ratify them may not be that easy either; Another amendment by Clyde to cancel funding for the new FBI building failed in committee.
But Clyde says he is approaching these amendments “quite differently”.
Clyde said, “I have had many positive conversations about my efforts with members at our conference, and I will continue to discuss my amendments with my colleagues to ensure that we can add these measures to the base bill.” succeed in.” “Addressing the weaponization and politicization of our judicial system should be a top priority for all House Republicans, which is why I believe we can muster enough support to do so for the sake of the American people and the future of our republic.”
Test
Advancing the House GOP’s focus on tackling the alleged “weaponization” of the justice system, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has taken a series of actions attacking Trump’s investigation and indictments — actions that are certain to Will continue as is.
Most recently, Jordan sent letters seeking information about White House meetings, including one by a top lawyer in the Special Counsel Jack Smith investigation, fueling fairness concerns about the Trump prosecution. A source with direct knowledge of the meetings told The Hill that the lawyer went to the White House for meetings that related to national security and to interview a career White House staffer who worked there during the Trump administration. .
Jordan is also seeking a memo that formalizes Smith’s role as special counsel, and information on whether any FBI employees investigated Trump.
The Judiciary Committee’s investigation is not limited to federal impeachments. In August, Jordan asked Willis to hand over all records relating to Trump’s impeachment in Georgia. Jordan has also sought testimony from Bragg.
Biden impeachment
Trump has urged House Republicans to impeach Biden in political revenge for the impeachments and his own two impeachments.
“These bastards impeached me twice (I won!), and convicted me four times – for nothing! Impeach the bomb, or fade into oblivion. They did this to us!” Trump said in a recent post on his Truth Social website.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has repeatedly said he will not pursue impeachment for political purposes. But when he or other Republicans are asked about Trump’s impeachment, they almost always turn the conversation to the investigation into Biden’s family business dealings, which the speaker feels is a “natural step” As impeachment will turn into inquiry.
The White House has said that Biden was not involved in his family’s business dealings, and Republicans have not shown that Biden profited directly from those business deals when he was vice president or made policy decisions based on his family’s businesses. Were taken
Republicans have claimed the actions in Trump’s impeachment are designed to distract from their investigation of Biden.
For example, Mills pointed to actions in the Trump indictments shortly after information was released in the Biden investigation, such as an unverified FBI source interview that described an alleged bribery scheme, and former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer. A written interview with .
“Why do they always try to blame the president and his top political rival the day after it’s revealed?” Mills said.
expungement
Republicans aim to symbolically defend Trump by introducing bills to end his two impeachments House GOP Conference Chair Alice Stefanik (NY) introduced a bill to end his second impeachment and Green First introduced a bill to abolish impeachment.
Those proposals were met with skepticism by some Republicans, who said there was no real way to weed out impeachment from the previous Congress. McCarthy said in June that he supports those removals, though it is unclear when those bills will move forward.
However, Trump hasn’t forgotten McCarthy’s stance, having shared a story about his support for expulsion on Truth Social and through his campaign in August.
Michael Schnell contributed.
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