Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is proposing two amendments to an appropriations bill that would defund the many prosecutions of former President Donald Trump.
Clyde, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, on Monday announced a pair of amendments to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill that would “prohibit the use of federal funding for the prosecution of any major presidential candidate prior to the upcoming presidential election on November 5th, 2024.”
According to a press release, one amendment would relate to federal prosecutions and the other would target federal funding for state prosecutions.
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to mark up the appropriations bill when members return to Washington, D.C., in mid-September.
The Georgia congressman said he is setting his sights on special counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis.
Smith has brought charges against Trump stemming from his alleged attempts to alter the outcome of the 2020 election and retention of classified documents. Bragg charged Trump in relation to alleged 2016 hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, and Willis charged the former president with racketeering and conspiracy violations related to the 2020 election.
“Due to my serious concerns about these witch hunt indictments against President Trump, I intend to offer two amendments to prohibit any federal funds from being used in federal or state courts to prosecute major presidential candidates prior to the 2024 election,” Clyde said in a statement.
“The American people get to decide who wins the White House — not Deep State actors who have shamelessly attacked Donald Trump since he announced his first bid in 2015. It is imperative that Congress use its power of the purse to protect the integrity of our elections, restore Americans’ faith in our government, and dismantle our nation’s two-tiered system of justice. I’m fully committed to helping lead this effort, and I call on my House Appropriations colleagues to join me in this righteous fight.”
Other Trump allies in the House have vowed to use the appropriations process to defund the prosecutions against the former president, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.
According to The Hill, Clyde’s position on the Appropriations Committee means that he will be the first among his colleagues to have his proposals voted on.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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