DeSantis Chides Special Counsel for Targeting Trump in January 6 Probe: ‘Constantly Trying to Put the Other Side in Jail’

Florida governor Ron DeSantis criticized Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday for targeting former president Donald Trump in his investigation into the events of January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, though he conceded that Trump could have done more to quash the riots at the Capitol.

“I think it was shown how he was in the White House and didn’t do anything while things were going on. He should have come out more forcefully,” DeSantis, who ranks second in most Republican primary polls behind Trump, said during a campaign stop in South Carolina.

“But, to try to criminalize that, that’s a different issue entirely and I think we want to be in a situation where you don’t have one side just constantly trying to put the other side in jail.”

DeSantis expanded upon his thoughts during an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper that aired on Tuesday afternoon. “This country is going down the road of criminalizing political differences & I think that is wrong.”

“Alvin Bragg stretched a statute in Manhattan to be able to target Donald Trump,” the governor added referring to the former president’s indictment in a case centering on hush-money payments made to the former adult actress Stormy Daniels. “Most people – even people on the left – acknowledge if that wasn’t Trump, that case would not have likely been brought against a normal civilian.”

“You have a situation where the Department of Justice, [and the] FBI, have been weaponized against people they don’t like and the number one example of that happens to be against Donald Trump with the Russian collusion.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump announced on Truth Social that he was the target of a criminal investigation. “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,” Trump wrote in a post.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) took a more strident approach to the news, accusing the federal government of falling prey to partisanship. “Well, I guess, under a Biden administration – a Biden America – you’d expect this. If you noticed recently, President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for re-election,” McCarthy said during a press conference Monday morning.

“So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go against their number one opponent. It’s time and time again. I think the American public is tired of this, they want to see equal justice, and the idea that they utilize this to go after those who politically disagree with them is wrong.”

Representative Marjorie Taylor-Green (R. Ga.) gave a fiery interview during which she called the investigation “absolute bull****” and added “this is the only way that Democrats have to beat President Trump: is to arrest him, smear him, [and] charge him, with ridiculous charges all in a cover up of Biden’s crimes, Hunter Biden’s crimes.”

“It’s unbelievable,” the controversial Georgia representative added. “It’s hard to recognize that this is even our country. The American people are going to be furious and what Jack Smith is doing is the weaponized government. He’s weaponizing the Department of Justice against President Trump in a complete lie about President Trump and January 6. It’s outrageous.”

Trump is also facing 37 felony counts in a separate indictment filed by Smith related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents. The charges include willful retention of national-defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and making false statements and representations.