Kevin McCarthy rips DOJ for targeting ‘number one opponent’ Trump in Jan. 6 probe

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted the Biden Justice Department on Tuesday after former President Donald Trump said he was a target of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election result.

“I guess, under a Biden administration, Biden America, you’d expect this,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters in a brief exchange Tuesday.

“Recently, President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for re-election,” he added.

“So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their number one opponent.”

McCarthy later doubled down on Twitter, contending that the public is “tired” of the purported weaponization of government.

Trump, 77, sent shock waves across Washington on Tuesday morning by revealing on Truth Social that he was briefed by his lawyers about a letter from Smith informing them that the former president is a focus of the DOJ’s Capitol riot probe.

Donald Trump revealed that an indictment against him from Jack Smith on the Capitol riot could come as soon as this week.AP

President Trump just increased his lead in the polls. So what does the Biden Administration do next? Weaponize government to go after President Biden’s number one opponent.

This is not equal justice. It’s wrong, and the American public is tired of it. pic.twitter.com/H53qEyOvrO

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) July 18, 2023

Smith has been helming the two federal investigations revolving around Trump, with the other focusing on sensitive national security documents kept at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

“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 said.

Last month, the former president was slapped with a 37-count indictment for his alleged stockpiling of classified documents and purported obstruction of justice.

Roughly 1,000 people have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. So far, Donald Trump is not one of them.AFP via Getty Images Critics have accused Trump of riling up protesters and fueling their anger over the 2020 election before the riot transpired. REUTERS

Trump has flatly denied wrongdoing across the board.

Trump’s legal woes have so far been political gold, and the 45th president remains the clear front-runner in the 2024 GOP field despite the charges against him.

McCarthy has stood by the former president in his battles with federal prosecutors and said the classified document indictment represented a “dark day” for the US.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has defended Trump repeatedly as his legal woes continue to pile up.REUTERS Special counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee the investigations surrounding the former president after he launched his 2024 campaign.REUTERS

Last month, the speaker landed in hot water with Trumpworld for appearing to suggest the former president might not be the strongest Republican contender in the 2024 fray.

McCarthy later walked back his remarks, though he has declined to endorse a contender in the GOP primary thus far.