“I will not participate” in the investigation of a special advocate

Former President Donald Trump blasted Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate him and told Fox News he “would not participate” in the investigation.

Garland on Friday appointed John L. Smith as special counsel to investigate Trump. Smith will review Trump’s handling of classified marked documents the FBI seized during a raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August and determine whether criminal charges should be brought against the former president.

Trump called the appointment of the special counsel “the worst politicization of justice in our country” during an interview with Fox News Digital on Friday.

Trump noted that the latest investigation comes after two “fake impeachments” and that former special counsel Robert Muller found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the presidential election in 2016.

“I’ve been through this for six years — I’ve been through this for six years, and I’m not going through it again,” Trump said. “And I hope Republicans have the courage to fight this.”

“I’ve been cleared for six years on everything – from bogus impeachments to Mueller, who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more? It’s not acceptable. It’s so unfair. It’s so political,” Trump said.

“I’m not going to participate in it,” Trump added. “I’m not going to participate in this.”

Trump also pointed out that Garland’s appointment of the special adviser came just days after his 2024 presidential campaign was officially announced.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. They found nothing. I announce and then they appoint a special prosecutor. They couldn’t find anything, and now they’re taking a guy who hates Trump,” Trump said. “It’s a shame and it’s only happening because I’m leading in all the polls from both parties.”

“It’s not even believable that they’re allowed to do that. This is the worst politicization of justice in our country,” Trump continued.

Trump also called out President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigating him while remaining silent on the various controversies surrounding Biden and his son, Hunter.

“Hunter Biden is a multiple-time criminal and nothing happens to him,” Trump told Fox News. “Joe Biden is a multiple-time felon – and nothing happens to them.”

Trump urged the GOP to “stand up and fight” against the appointment of a DOJ special adviser.

“It’s unfair to the country, to the Republican Party, and I don’t think people should accept it. I’m not going to accept it,” Trump said. “The Republican Party must stand up and fight.”

Special Counsel Smith is the assistant deputy attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division, which is “one of the most politicized left-leaning departments in the agency,” according to Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak.

In a statement on Friday, Smith said he would “conduct assigned investigations, and any resulting prosecutions, independently and in the best traditions of the Justice Department.”

Smith also pledged to “exercise independent judgement” and to “promote investigations quickly and thoroughly, whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.