One day after entering a not guilty plea to 34 felony counts of fabricating business records in New York, the former president of the United States called on his fellow Republicans in Congress on Wednesday to cut funding for the FBI and the Justice Department of the United States.
Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, attacked federal law enforcement officials despite the fact that the Manhattan district attorney was the one who initiated the criminal charges against him, the first against any previous or incumbent president.
But, Special Counsel Jack Smith, a representative of the Justice Department appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, is the head of two criminal investigations into Trump. Both appear to have picked up speed recently.
Given that Republicans now control the House of Representatives and Democrats currently hold the Senate, Congress is unlikely to take Trump’s suggestion seriously. That would also represent a striking reversal for Republicans, who have previously defended strong funding for law enforcement and rejected recent calls from some on the left to “defund” local police forces.
Republicans in Congress have demanded significant cuts in government spending in exchange for voting to extend the nation’s debt ceiling, but they have not yet offered concrete plans.
The FBI is the domestic spy and security agency for the United States and is a division of the Justice Department. After James Comey, the FBI’s former director, was fired by Trump in 2017, Christopher Wray, the current director, was appointed.
During his presidency from 2017 through 2021, Trump supported increases in funding for the Justice Department. According to data from the White House, its budget rose by 4% to $38.7 billion over that time.
The efforts of Trump and his associates to change the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, are the subject of one of the special counsel’s investigations.
A Pence spokesperson announced on Wednesday that the former vice president has decided not to appeal a judge’s order compelling him to testify before a grand jury in that investigation regarding conversations he had with Trump before the January 6, 2021, attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.
The subject of Smith’s additional probe is Trump’s possession of secret materials after leaving office.
On Wednesday, the FBI declined to respond to Trump’s comments. An inquiry for comments was not answered by the Justice Department.
Decreased financing for federal law enforcement would also have no impact on a separate criminal investigation of Trump being conducted by a Georgia county prosecutor and concentrating on whether he illegally attempted to reverse his state’s 2020 election loss.
FINANCES FOR TWO WOMEN
The Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Trump on Tuesday with 34 felonies for allegedly orchestrating payments to two women prior to the 2016 election in an effort to prevent the public disclosure of their sex acts with him.
The payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels, according to the prosecution, represented an effort to hide a violation of election law.
As he aims to deny Biden a second term in office, opinion polls indicate that Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Throughout the years, Trump has claimed that federal and state law enforcement have been using him as a political pawn. In response, his fellow Republicans in Congress have organised hearings to look into what they refer to as the “weaponization” of government.
He and his allies claim that Bragg, a Democrat, brought the allegations for political purposes. In remarks made following the filing of the charges on Tuesday, Bragg stated that it is his duty to make sure that everyone is treated equally in front of the law.
On Tuesday, before taking a flight back to his house in Florida to make a public statement, Trump showed up at an arraignment in New York. Without providing any supporting information, he claimed that he was a victim of election tampering.
The next hearing in the Manhattan case has been scheduled for December 4 during a period of increased Republican presidential primary campaigning, according to Judge Juan Merchan. According to legal professionals, a trial might not begin for a year.
Legally, being charged or even being found guilty does not bar someone from running for president.
Prosecutors expressed concern about Trump’s social media posts in court on Tuesday. These posts included a threat he made last month that if he were charged, the United States might face “death & destruction” and one in which he posted a picture of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of Bragg.
Merchan requested Trump’s attorneys to remind the former president to avoid saying anything that would encourage violence or disturbance or endanger people’s safety.
Andres Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, stated that he disagrees with the accusations made against Trump.
