Congressman Andy Ogles of Tennessee has introduced legislation to prevent Special Counsel Jack Smith from drawing a salary amid ongoing investigations into former President Donald Trump.
Ogles introduced the Yanking Outlays for an Unethical, Ruthless Enterprise that Fraudulently Impedes Robust Electoral Debate Act, or the You’re Fired Act on Aug. 11 with support from two co-sponsors, Congressman Alex Mooney of West Virginia and Congressman Eli Crane of Arizona.
“The Biden Administration’s weaponization of the DOJ for personal political gain through the appointment of Jack Smith is nothing short of appalling,” Ogles said in a statement, per The Washington Examiner.
“In November 2022, he was tasked with taking down Biden’s biggest threat, President Donald J. Trump. From falsified indictments to non-existent supporting ‘evidence’, everything about the proceedings by Smith have screamed desperate,” he said. “America cannot and will not stand for that, and it’s well past time that Congress uses its power of the purse to tell Jack Smith: you're fired.”
Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has issued two federal indictments against Trump. One was filed in Florida and stems from Smith's investigation into classified documents. The second was filed in Washington, D.C. and alleged Trump conspired to overturn the 2020 election, per Newsmax.
Garland said Smith was the “right choice to complete these manners in an evenhanded and urgent manner” at a press conference in November 2022.
“The special counsel's experience ranges from prosecuting a sitting U.S. senator to bringing cases against gang members who were ultimately convicted of murdering New York City police officers,” reports KCRA. “His career spans multiple stints in the Justice Department and international courts, which until his appointment had allowed him to keep a relatively low-profile in the oftentimes brassy legal industry.”
Smith previously worked for the International Criminal Court and oversaw the investigation into former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in 2010 and the indictment of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell in 2014. He was the assistant then acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. In 2018, he became the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, where he oversaw investigations into war crimes in Kosovo.
“Joe Biden’s administration is run by left-wing political activists,” said Mooney in a statement. “Jack Smith is the latest example of someone who will do anything it takes to ensure that President Trump is kept out of the White House.”
“Congress must hold the rogue DOJ accountable, and I support withholding funding to Jack Smith until the department ceases pushing its blatantly partisan two-tiered system of justice,” he added. “These disgusting abuses of power will fail, and Donald Trump will be elected again in 2024.”
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz said in July that he would offer a bill to defund Smith’s investigations into Trump shortly after the former president said he was notified he was a target of the Department of Justice’s investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
“They are attacking our democracy and engaging in election interference right now,” said Gaetz on his podcast, per The Hill. Gaetz said the DOJ had not responded to his requests for information about the staff assigned to work with Smith.
