Some Republicans try once again to defund Jack Smith prosecutions

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Last summer, Republicans pushed to defund special counsel Jack Smith's office. As Donald Trump's legal crisis intensifies, the idea has made a comeback.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-try-defund-jack-smith-prosecutions-rcna151208

It’s against this backdrop that Republican Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is leading a new push — to defund special counsel Jack Smith’s office. Roll Call reported on the Georgia Republican’s clash with House Speaker Mike Johnson, and what she wants in exchange for letting him keep the gavel.

... Greene’s top priority, she said, was a promise to “defund” the office of special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith, who is pursuing the prosecution of former President Donald Trump on charges related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election and retaining classified documents.

This dovetails with related legislation from Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida that would have the effect of stripping funding from the prosecutor’s office.

Johnson, not surprisingly, hasn’t committed to defunding anything, though the Louisiana Republican appeared at a Capitol Hill press conference yesterday, dismissed the overwhelming evidence prosecutors have assembled against Trump, and insisted that Congress would “address” the former president’s prosecutions “in every possible” way.

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.....Simply as a matter of procedure, such a move would need to pass the Democratic-led Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden, and it’s probably safe to say that they’d have some concerns about defunding Smith’s office.

What’s more, it’s an open question as to whether such a measure could even pass the House: The GOP’s majority is tiny, and some Republican incumbents from competitive districts would likely be reluctant to link arms with their radical colleagues on such a gambit, especially knowing it would be ignored in the Senate.

But let’s not lose sight of the fact that for some Republicans, this is a serious idea worthy of their time and consideration. Confronted with compelling evidence of alleged felonies, these GOP members believe the proper response is to not only intervene in ongoing criminal cases, but also to use the levers of power to defund prosecutors.

We continue to learn quite a bit about the contemporary Republican Party’s approach to the rule of law, and none of it’s good.

[BoRaGard]

1. OK, let's start a GoFundMe

I reckon honest Americans will raise several trillion dollars to support Jack's investigation, and to keep America free from the Satanically-driven Republican Christofascist Sin-and-Crime Syndicate.

[Traildogbob]

2. Excellent

Description of those evil assholes. And “their” Gawd.

[Grins]

3. "Defunding the office of the special counsel"...? Isn't that...

…a perfect example of “weaponizing” government? That “Gym” Jordan and the rest of the GOP lose shit over?

[doc03]

4. It is never going to go to court before it makes

a difference anyway. Thanks to AG Garland and Cannon.

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

5. Oh Please...

How the hell does holding someone accountable, regardless of who, a threat to the ENTIRE system? This unholy man is such a little man. I really don't like to hear him speak, it grates on me and I end up rolling my eyes more than he did during The State of the Union address.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Outside TFG's trial, Maga Mike again promised to defund Jack Smith

Link to tweet

[MarineCombatEngineer]

8. He's working with Comer and Jordan?

Well, then, it's definitely doomed to failure.
The MAGAt gang that can't shoot straight.

[spanone]

7. What are they afraid of? Of course, the Truth.

[Takket]

9. "he's done nothing wrong and the prosecutions must stop"

Is literally why we have a criminal justice system. That is the method of dealing with improper prosecution. The judge can dismiss the case if it’s is bullshit or the jury can find you not guilty. Congress needs to respect its own place.

[republianmushroom]

10. No need to defund Jack's prosecutions, most likely the statute of limitations,

will run out before there is any trials. Remember Mueller special counsel investigation, an investigation into 45th U.S. president Donald Trump regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections...?

39 months and counting (with lots of foot dragging)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. Why Speaker Mike Johnson's trip to Trump's trial in N.Y. mattered

His appearance at Donald Trump’s criminal trial was tough to defend, but his vow to “rein in” prosecutors made the problem worse.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/speaker-mike-johnsons-trip-trumps-trial-ny-mattered-rcna152326

House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, doesn’t appear to have any interest in his party’s vice-presidential nomination. Rather, the Louisiana Republican made the trip to New York City yesterday to engage in a raw partisan display. As the Associated Press noted, Johnson became “the highest-ranking Republican to show up at court, embrace the former president’s claims of political persecution and attack the U.S. system of justice.”

It was a remarkable moment in modern American politics: The House speaker amplifying Trump’s defense and turning the Republican Party against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government and a cornerstone of democracy. Johnson, who is second in line for the presidency, called the court system “corrupt.”

The display was, by any fair measure, obscene. The sitting speaker of the House — Congress’ top official and a man two heartbeats from the presidency — decided that it would be fully appropriate to show up at a criminal trial and allow himself to be used as a mouthpiece for a suspected felon......

But perhaps most notable of all was the House speaker’s comments about his plans for the near future — because as it turns out, Johnson intends to use his courthouse appearance as a springboard toward future action. The conservative Washington Times reported:

House Speaker Mike Johnson ... told reporters that all the cases brought against Mr. Trump amount to election interference and Congress has a constitutional responsibility to investigate the prosecutors and “hold them accountable.”

In fact, Johnson accused special counsel Jack Smith of undefined “abuses,” adding that he’s prepared to take measure to “rein in”
prosecutors that Republicans disagree with.

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.....But even the possibility that Johnson intends to interfere in ongoing criminal cases, going after prosecutors for their doing their jobs and following the evidence, is a case study in indefensible Republican radicalism.