OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Eric Trump took some verbal potshots at special counsel Jack Smith on Monday for actions he reportedly took as part of his probe into former President Donald Trump.
During an appearance on Newsmax TV, Eric told guest host Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that Smith went through his little brother Barron’s “underwear drawer” and “everything else you could possible imagine.”
“They are doing anything they can to take down my father,” said Trump. “Everybody forgets that Jack Smith’s wife was the one who did the Michelle Obama documentary.”
“I mean, isn’t it really convenient that she’s team Michelle Obama and happens to be the person that’s going after Donald Trump when, in a Harvard Harris poll this morning, my father’s leading Biden by five points, and I actually think it’s probably far higher than that,” Trump said.
“But he’s clearly the frontrunner for the Republican Party by, you know, forty or fifty points over the next nearest rival. DeSantis is fading quickly. He’s beating Biden in every single poll on a national level,” he noted further.
In a reference to Smith, Eric said he thought it was “really interesting” that the man whose wife “produced a Michelle Obama documentary happens to be the guy who is rabidly going after my father, as you said, misusing statutes, and raiding his home at Mar-a-Lago, and you know, going through Barron’s underwear drawer and, you know, everything else you could possibly imagine.”
“It’s disgraceful, and honestly, I am fearful for this country, Matt, because it’s— our country can’t last this way. They’ve lost so much confidence of the American people. The FBI’s not respected the way it was before, and it’s so sad to say that because it used to be a great institution,” he told Gaetz.
Gaetz, meanwhile, has devised a plan to legislatively protect Donald Trump from prosecution and, many believe, likely conviction in a D.C. federal courtroom on allegations tied to the Jan. 6 riot — charges that Smith brought earlier this month.
In an appearance on TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s show on the Real America’s Voice streaming network, the Florida Republican laid out how the GOP-led Congress could bring Trump in and compel him to provide testimony that could then “immunize” him from prosecution.
“You can actually bring President Trump in to give testimony to Congress and, in doing so, immunize him,” Gaetz said.
“Now, there’s different forms of immunity that take place at the committee level, subcommittee level, in some instances for full immunity, you have to have more of a supermajority vote,” he continued. “But if you had a supermajority vote of a committee, like Speaker McCarthy could set up a select committee tomorrow that can bring Trump in and immunize him.
“And then we could proceed with the very legitimate investigative work that we’re doing of the Bidens and the corrupt DOJ,” Gaetz continued. “Unfortunately, none of those things are happening. Instead, Congress is not in Washington, not assembled. And I think the timing is on purpose.
“No timing in DC is ever just a mere coincidence. And so right as Congress is leaving town, right as we’re walking away from our equities, you see this acceleration of activity against Trump,” Gaetz added.
Kirk responded, “Let’s be specific here, though. So immunize him from what crimes even if he’s under current indictment? Is that including even the obstruction claims? And give us some examples of how this has been used recently.”
The Florida Republican and Trump ally replied that the procedure has not been used “recently.”
“But obviously, we’re aware of the ability for any person to plead the Fifth,” he said. “You can dissolve someone’s ability to plead the Fifth if you immunize them. And so Congress has this ability that’s been recognized. It’s even laid out in 18 U.S.C. 6002 and 6005. If folks want to look it up.”
“But there you’ve got the ability to say, well, we’re here by compelling your testimony,” he continued. “We’re giving you immunity for anything you say to us and anything that that would lead to. And so, for example, if President Trump came in and said, I’m here to give you testimony about the witch hunt, the abuse of criminal process, that Congress has … legitimate oversight equities to resolve.”
“And if he were to say things to us, we could immunize him for that conduct that he were to discuss,” Gaetz added.
