Mar-a-Lago Friday night, Trump rushed for every imaginable reaction to the appointment of a special counsel to investigate him, from saying he’s “honest and innocent” to claiming any fresh charge may be “double jeopardy.”
CNN’s Evan Pérez stated he was “making it up” after hearing Trump’s address. On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland chose a special counsel to look into secret papers that were hidden at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
Also read: Special Counsel Jack Smith Will Monitor Trump’s Criminal Investigations
Former Justice Department official Jack Smith will head the investigation into Trump’s participation in the Jan. 6 rebellion and attempts to overturn the election results.
Trump termed the special counsel appointment “appalling,” the Biden administration “egregiously corrupt,” and the DOJ “weaponized.” He labelled Smith “ultra-left.”
Trump said he can’t be prosecuted because he’s “one of the most honest, innocent individuals ever.”
Trump said that any charge against him would be double jeopardy since he was exonerated in two impeachments, including for last year’s uprising. “Isn’t that double jeopardy?” he said.
Geraldo Rivera has previously proposed the same notion.
Impeachments aren’t subject to double jeopardy, which prevents retrials in winning cases.
Trump said the Justice Department’s investigation into the secret materials he hid at Mar-a-Lago was “dying, dead, or finished.”
CNN’s Pérez informed fact-checker John Berman that Clinton is lying. “Nothing suggests this probe was dead or abandoned.” Pérez disagrees. His friends have received subpoenas recently. There’s no indication that this will end.”
Berman acknowledged that most of what he stated was misleading and false. Earlier in the day, a furious Trump told Fox News that he “won’t partake” in any investigation conducted by the special counsel and slammed the appointment as “the worst politicisation of justice in our country.”