Trump Will Not Cooperate With ‘Sham Investigation,’ Spokesperson Says
Trump Will Not Cooperate With ‘Sham Investigation,’ Spokesperson Says

By Katie Spence

Former President Donald Trump has branded as a “sham” a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into his handling of classified documents and the Jan. 6 breach.

And he won’t cooperate with it, Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington said in an interview that aired on NTD’s Newsmakers on Nov. 23.

On Nov. 15, Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2024.

Citing Trump’s announcement as the reason, on Nov. 18, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a Special Counsel to investigate Trump over Jan. 6 and the classified documents found at Mar-a-Largo.

Harrington said the former president won’t cooperate because the DOJ is engaging in a partisan and political “sham investigation” that needs to be shut down and not given credence.

She added that the investigation is nothing more than “an ongoing witch-hunt” played out for seven years.

Former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election during an announcement at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS)

“This announcement comes after only three days after President Trump made his announcement for the White House in 2024. It’s clearly political and this so-called special prosecutor has so many conflicts of interest.”

Jack Smith, the Special Counsel appointed by Garland, is a former career Justice Department prosecutor. After his appointment, Smith stated that he would exercise “independent judgment” and follow only the facts in his investigation.

In 2015, Smith and his team prosecuted Virginia’s former Republican Governor, Robert McDonnell, on a series of corruption charges. The Supreme Court later unanimously threw out the conviction.

Harrington further noted that then-President Barrack Obama and then-Attorney General Erick Holder appointed Smith to lead a division of the DOJ that went after conservatives with the IRS.

Smith is also married to Katy Chevigny, the filmmaker responsible for “Becoming”, a documentary about Michelle Obama. And who allegedly donated to President Joe Biden and Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s campaigns.

Trump’s Legal Team Responds

When asked what Trump’s legal team is planning in response to the special counsel appointment, Harrington said they would “fight it in every avenue that we can. This is clearly political, this is banana republic territory, and we have to get tough.”

She added that when Republicans take back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023, they can take funding away from the ongoing Trump investigations. She encouraged them to take such a path.

Plus, Harrington lobbied that if there’s genuine concern over the peaceful transfer of power, as is being claimed, then Smith needs to investigate Obama. “What they did to sabotage the transfer of power in 2016 to 2017, that was what was so criminal.”

First Lady Melania Trump (L), President Donald Trump (2L), former President Barack Obama (2R), and Michelle Obama (R) at the Capitol after inauguration ceremonies in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2017. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Harrington said during his 2016 campaign, the White House and Hillary Clinton’s campaign spied on Trump, and false allegations surfaced as a result. When Trump first made those allegations, they were highly controversial but have since been proven true.

Harrington said the current investigation will be the same and that it’s an illegitimate investigation and “leak factory” designed to “muddy up our campaign and try to damage President Trump with no facts, but just to hurt his campaign in the eyes of the public.”

The good news, Harrington stated, is that in her opinion, people are wise to the DOJ’s schemes and view the investigation as a political attack. Because of that, Trump feels comfortable taking every legal action he can.

“We are not going to abide by this. Because the people see through it, and they want equal justice under the law.”

Harrington didn’t detail exactly what “every legal action” entails.

Special Counsel Says It is Impartial

On Nov. 18, Garland stated in a press release, “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.”

Pointedly, Garland appointed Smith to discover whether anyone illegally interfered with the transfer of power after the 2020 election or the certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6 and to oversee the investigation involving classified documents at Mar-a-Largo.

Garland stated of Smith’s appointment and impartiality, “Although the Special Counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department, he must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the department.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland (L) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images); Former President Donald Trump (R) at an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Garland added, “Given the work done to date and Mr. Smith’s prosecutorial experience, I am confident that this appointment will not slow the completion of these investigations.

“The men and women who are pursuing these investigations are conducting themselves in accordance with the highest standards of professionalism. I could not be prouder of them. I strongly believe that the normal processes of this department can handle all investigations with integrity.”

Smith also claimed he’d be impartial in a press release, “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 judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”

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