Republicans Back Trump As Possible Third Indictment Looms

House Republicans defended former President Donald Trump Tuesday after he said he was told he is a target in the Justice Department’s probe of the January 6 Capitol riots, blasting a possible third indictment of the former president as “bulls--t.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said the expected indictment is "just one more example that you're seeing a constant targeting over and over and over again by this administration against Donald Trump."

"It's interesting that it happens more and more as Trump rises in the polls and Biden falls in the polls," Scalise said. "That's an unfortunate part of this and an unequal application of Justice."

“This is absolute bulls–t,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told The Messenger. “This is weaponized government. Democrats can’t win an election so they have to arrest their political opponents.”

Greene later tweeted that Special Counsel Jack Smith is a "lousy attorney" who "only targets Republicans because he’s a weak little bi-ch for the Democrats."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the latest move against Trump is what Republicans have come to expect from the Biden administration.

"Recently President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for reelection. So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their number one opponent," he said. "I think the American public is tired of this. They want to see equal justice. And the idea that they utilized this to go after those who politically disagree with him is wrong."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a staunch Trump ally and head of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, said the news was “just ridiculous and wrong.”

“I can’t believe this is happening in our country,” Jordan said. 

Trump released a statement Tuesday in which he said he received a so-called target letter Sunday night from Special Counsel Smith's team, which means the former president is likely to be indicted as part of Smith's investigation into events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.

Smith's letter, Trump said, gave him "a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment."

Scalise, the No. 2 Republican leader in the House, has not endorsed a candidate in the 2024 GOP presidential primary and he demurred when asked if he is considering endorsing Trump.

"We're busy on moving our agenda forward right now," he said. "But obviously I know all the people running well, loved serving with President Trump. I wish he was president today because we had a great economy going, we had a border that was secure, our enemies around the world were not threatening our our friends around the world."

Republicans continued the familiar refrain of arguing the investigation and possible indictment of Trump is evidence of the weaponization of federal law enforcement against the former president. 

“A president out raising questions about election integrity, and they’re gonna convert that into a crime, that goes into the heart of a banana republic approach to government,” Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said. “I think it’s terrible for the American people.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., suggested a possible second federal indictment of Trump would help him during election season, saying “the only thing it’s gonna do it make his numbers go up.”

“The legal system is not exactly a balanced system right now,” Burchett said.