Marjorie Taylor Greene Draws 'Line in the Sand' Over Trump Indictment

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke out in defense of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the Department of Justice (DOJ) handed down its second indictment against Trump.

The former president is facing four criminal counts in the DOJ's probe into the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Prosecutors charge that the former president and his allies repeatedly attempted to block the Electoral College vote certification on the day of the attack, including through pressure campaigns and a failed fake-elector scheme.

The former president attacked Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday for "putting out yet another Fake Indictment" against him, accusing the Justice Department of attempting to interfere with his 2024 reelection bid.

Greene, one of Trump's closest allies in Congress, echoed the former president in a statement Tuesday night, claiming that the latest federal charges were a sign that the U.S. is starting to resemble "authoritarian regimes rather than the beacon of freedom and democracy our founders valiantly fought to establish."

"Innocent individuals, including former President Donald J. Trump, are being unjustly targeted by a Department of Injustice and an FBI transformed into political hitmen, acting at the behest of the sitting president," read the statement, which was obtained by Newsweek.

"Special Counsel Jack Smith has abused his power, using his office to persecute President Trump, his aides, and ultimately, the American people. These actions are undoubtedly politically motivated, with clear intentions of interfering with the upcoming 2024 election."

Greene also reiterated calls to defund the DOJ, which, she said, has been pursuing "baseless investigations." The Republican also introduced articles of impeachment against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"This is the line in the sand," she continued. "This is nothing but a political assassination and I will not vote to fund a communist regime. I will not vote to fund a weaponized government while it politically persecutes not only President Trump but all conservative Americans."

"The Biden Department of Justice has gone rogue, and the FBI are their henchmen," Greene added. "Until we restore the FBI and the Department of Justice to the esteemed institutions they once were, I will not vote to fund these communist organizations that are doing the bidding of Joe Biden."

Greene ended her statement by claiming that her support for Trump was "unwavering."

Conservatives such as Greene first called to defund federal law enforcement following the former president's first DOJ indictment handed down in June, in which Trump is now facing 40 felony counts related to his handling of classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022.

Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, a fellow conservative, also reignited calls for Smith to be defunded in a post on the platform "X" Tuesday night.Trump has pressed his allies in both chambers of Congress to act against federal law enforcement in light of his indictments.

But some Republicans have dismissed calls to take away funding for departments like the DOJ and the FBI, including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who previously compared the conservative cry to the Democratic-backed plan to "defund the police."

"It was not too many years ago when the big cry [among Democrats] was, 'Defund the police,' and Republicans were saying, 'Are you out of your mind?'" Murkowski said. "Now, the Republicans are saying defund the Department of Justice, defund the FBI. What are we doing people? Yes, I'm worried."

Newsweek reached out to Greene's office via email Tuesday night for comment.