Donald Trump lashed out at the Justice Department over their appointment of a special counsel to investigate his handling of classified documents and the Jan. 6 insurrection, saying he will not “partake” in it.
“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,” Trump told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. “And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this.”
“I am not going to partake in it. I’m not going to partake in this,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Jack Smith, a prosecutor at The Hague and a former federal prosecutor, to serve as special counsel.
Garland explained that appointing a special counsel to investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents and allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is in the public’s best interest since Trump announced he would be running for president again in 2024.
“Based on recent developments, including Trump’s announcement that he is a candidate for president in the next election, and the current president’s intention to be a candidate in the next election, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said at a news conference.
Following his appointment, Smith said in a statement: “I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate,”
