Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says he has no say in the matter.
JESSICA CORBETT For Common Dreams
Former
President Donald Trump on Friday told Fox News Digital that he
won't "partake" after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith to serve as special
counsel for two ongoing criminal investigations involving the GOP leader, who
recently announced his 2024 campaign.
By Monte Wolverton
"I
have been going through this for six years—for six years I have been going
through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore," said
Trump, who faces various legal issues at the state and federal level.
"And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this."
"I
have been proven innocent for six years on everything—from fake impeachments to
[former Special Counsel Robert] Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have
to do it more?" he continued. "It is not acceptable. It is so unfair.
It is so political."
The
first investigation Smith will oversee focuses on the January 6, 2021 attack on
the U.S. Capitol that Trump incited with his "Big Lie" that the 2020
election was stolen from him—which led to his unprecedented second impeachment.
The second probe focuses on classified documents and other presidential
records.
The
ex-president insisted Friday that "I am not going to partake in it... I'm
not going to partake in this."
"I have never heard of such a thing. They found nothing. I announce and then they appoint a special prosecutor," he said. "They found nothing, and now they take some guy who hates Trump. This is a disgrace and only happening because I am leading in every poll in both parties."
"It
is not even believable that they're allowed to do this. This is the worst
politicization of justice in our country," Trump added before taking aim
at President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and again urging his allies to
challenge the investigations.
"It
is unfair to the country, to the Republican Party, and I don't think people
should accept it. I am not going to accept it," he declared. "The
Republican Party has to stand up and fight."
Journalist
Aaron Rupar took to Twitter to highlight several of Trump's lies in his
comments to Fox.
U.S.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) tweeted: "Thing is, with prosecutors you
don't have to 'partake.' They and the agents and the grand jurors go about
their business without you having to 'partake' at all. You even have a right not
to 'partake.'"
Garland
did not shy away from Trump's bid to reclaim the White House in his Friday
speech announcing the appointment. He said that "based on recent
developments, including the former president's announcement that he is a
candidate for president in the next election, and the sitting president's
stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the
public interest to appoint a special counsel."
Smith,
a former federal prosecutor, said in a statement Friday that "I
intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may
result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of
Justice. The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch.
I will exercise independent judgment and will move the investigations forward
expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law
dictate."
The
Biden White House did not receive advance notice of Smith's appointment, according to Press Secretary Karine
Jean-Pierre, who said that "the Department of Justice makes their own
decision when it relates to criminal investigation. We were not involved."
"We
do not politicize the Department of Justice," she added. "That is
something that the president said during the campaign. That is something that
the president said during his early days of being in the White House, and that
continues to be true. We were not involved in this particular issue."
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform
that at 8:00 pm ET Friday, he will be "making a statement on the
never-ending Witch Hunt" from Mar-a-Lago—his Florida estate where federal
agents executed a search warrant in August.