(The Hill) – Former President Trump on Monday threatened to appoint a special prosecutor to specifically target President Biden and his family if he’s reelected to the White House.
Trump’s post on Truth Social represents a brazen pledge to use the levers of government to target political rivals. It comes in the wake of his own indictment by a Justice Department special counsel stemming from his handling of classified materials after leaving office.
In a post on Truth Social written in all capital letters, Trump wrote: “Now that the ‘seal’ is broken, in addition to closing the border & removing all of the ‘criminal’ elements that have illegally invaded our country, making America energy independent & even dominant again, & immediately ending the war between Russia & Ukraine, I will appoint a real special ‘prosecutor’ to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the USA, Joe Biden, the entire Biden crime family, & all others involved with the destruction of our elections, borders, & country itself!”
The former president lashing out at Biden comes days after the Justice Department unsealed a 37-count indictment that includes 31 counts under the Espionage Act after Trump refused to return classified materials he took with him upon leaving the White House in 2021.
A breakdown of the documents Trump is accused of keeping alleges they dealt with intelligence collected on foreign countries or American military capabilities.
The filing also alleges Trump weighed methods to avoid returning the documents, asking his attorney to “hide or destroy” those in his possession following a June subpoena last year. It also says he tried to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal his continued possession of classified documents by suggesting his attorney falsely represent to the FBI that he did not have the documents in question.
And the filing details two specific instances where Trump is alleged to have shared highly sensitive materials with individuals at his Bedminster, N.J., club who did not have security clearances.
Trump and his allies have claimed the prosecution is politically motivated and accused the Justice Department under the Biden administration of targeting a political rival, with Trump leading in most 2024 GOP primary polls.
But Biden has repeatedly declined to weigh in on the investigation into his predecessor, and a special counsel was appointed in Trump’s case to maintain independence.
Trump, meanwhile, has for years pushed to investigate or target his political rivals. He led chants of “lock her up” directed at Hillary Clinton throughout his 2016 campaign and time in the White House.
Trump’s one-time chief of staff, John Kelly, alleged that Trump pushed for the IRS to investigate FBI officials like former Director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe.
Trump in 2020 called on his then-Attorney General Bill Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the Biden family amid allegations of corruption that have not been proven.
