Name: Special Counsel Investigating Trump Is 'Tool to Attack a Political Enemy': FBI Veteran
Uploaded: 2025-01-04T21:01:34.000Z
Description: In appointing a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department (DOJ) has turned its law enforcement apparatus into a “tool to attack a political enemy,” according to FBI veteran Marc Ruskin.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Pentagon Scraps Deployment of 4,000 Troops to Poland

9/11 Memorial and Museum Adds 7th Moment of Silence

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Launch Joint Venture to Tackle Dead Zones

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Trump Committed to US Defense, Prosperity, Amid China Talks: Expert

Jerome Powell Ends Tenure as Fed Chair

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

California Gubernatorial Candidates Make Closing Pitches to Voters 

House Passes 1st Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations Bill

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Federal Judge Partly Blocks Texas Immigration Law

Trump Announces National Garden of American Heroes Plans

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 15)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 11)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 5)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 4)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

In appointing a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department (DOJ) has turned its law enforcement apparatus into a “tool to attack a political enemy,” according to FBI veteran Marc Ruskin.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden administration appointee, on Nov. 18 made the<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/biden-administration-appoints-special-prosecutor-for-trump-probe_4872218.html"> announcement</a> in Washington, handing former DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith the task to oversee investigations related to Trump’s handling of classified records and parts of the probe into the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-calls-dojs-special-counsel-appointment-a-horrendous-abuse-of-power_4873789.html"> characterized Garland’s move</a> as a “horrendous abuse of power” and the “latest in the long series of witch hunts.”

The timing of the appointment is significant, Ruskin said, noting how it dovetailed with pledges by House Republicans to investigate President Joe Biden and his administration once the GOP takes the gavel in January.

“Using the legal system in baseless investigations and prosecutions has been a hallmark of the anti-Trump campaign since before 2016,” Ruskin, who served 27 years with the FBI and is a contributor for The Epoch Times, said in an interview.

Prosecutor Jack Smith of the U.S. in a courtroom at The Hague on Nov. 10, 2020. (Peter Dejong/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)


<h2><strong>‘Bait-and-Switch’</strong></h2>
Ruskin believes that the special counsel investigation serves a particular purpose.

“It's an old trick,” he said. “They'll be hoping to divert attention from the congressional investigations and focus instead on a baseless special counsel investigation, because there's no question that the legacy media is going to jump on board and give this front page attention, while the investigations being conducted by Congress will either be ignored or relegated to the back of the newspaper.”

U.S. Code<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.1"> 28 CFR § 600.1</a> prescribes that the DOJ should appoint a special counsel in an investigation where there is a conflict of interest or other extraordinary circumstances, under which it would be in the public interest for an outside special counsel to step in.

In the Friday press conference, Garland described the appointment of Smith, a registered independent, as a matter of public interest, citing Trump’s presidential candidacy and Biden’s interest in entering the race. Ruskin, however, didn’t feel convinced that there were sufficient grounds to warrant such a move.

“They really haven’t articulated facts which justified the appointment of any kind of counsel,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Some Trump critics have argued that the special counsel appointment suggests that the Justice Department is intent on bringing the case to indictment. Ruskin dismissed this claim as “a fabrication in order to justify a difficult-to-justify investigation.”

“The argument is the old ‘where the smoke there must be fire’ reasoning, which is fallacious reasoning,” he said. “It's a fallacy which has been propagated in order to justify what is arguably a politically motivated investigation seeking to create an advantage for the Democratic Party in the upcoming elections.”

With the Jan. 6 probes dragging on for nearly two years, Ruskin said that he doesn’t expect anything tangible coming out of the continuing investigations.

“They've come up with basically nothing. It really defies credibility to even suggest that this is a bonafide, legitimate investigation,” he said.

Ruskin said that the news from Friday confirmed his belief that the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid was a “fishing expedition to obtain anything related to January 6.”

Such a tactic, which Ruskin called a “bait-and-switch,” is no different from using “tainted evidence” in his view.

“It's like the fruit of the poisonous tree,” he said. “You shouldn't be able to use facts obtained via subterfuge in order to accomplish [something] unrelated to the goals.”

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) waves alongside his son Hunter Biden after attending mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Johns Island, South Carolina on Aug. 13, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)


<h2><strong>Hunter Biden Probe</strong></h2>
Having won back the House with a slim majority, Republicans have wasted no time flagging a raft of probes they plan to unleash in the new year, with a top focus being Biden’s alleged involvement in his son Hunter’s foreign business deals.

“This is an investigation of Joe Biden, the president of the United States, and why he lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s international business schemes,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee,<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/this-is-an-investigation-of-joe-biden-house-republicans-allege-biden-was-involved-in-hunters-business-dealings_4869567.html"> told</a> reporters on Nov. 17. The announcement prompted a<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/white-house-attacks-gop-probe-into-biden-family-business-dealings-claiming-long-debunked-conspiracy-theories_4871658.html"> retort</a> from the White House, which called it politically-motivated rehashing of “long-debunked conspiracy theories.”

Republicans on the committee on the same day released a report claiming to have uncovered evidence of federal crimes tied to the Biden family, which include conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Action, tax evasion, money laundering, and violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

But Republicans looking into the possible abuses by the DOJ and FBI could face strong resistance from the agencies, according to Ruskin. This is especially so if the House GOP wants to look into ongoing matters like the FBI Trump raid, in which case the bureau could cite the ongoing investigation to refuse disclosing information.

But Ruskin sees the FBI’s handling of<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/computer-store-owner-describes-handing-over-alleged-hunter-biden-laptop-to-fbi_3540293.html"> Hunter Biden laptop</a> as a potential starting point.

An “obvious avenue of inquiry,” he said, is “why Justice [Department] and the bureau have sat on for two years without making any progress.”

Earlier this year, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/new-whistleblower-claims-fbi-leaders-delayed-key-investigation-sen-johnson_4685738.html">revealed</a> claims from FBI whistleblowers, alleging that the bureau leadership at the local level purposely delayed an examination of the Hunter Biden laptop until after the 2020 election, around a year after the FBI obtained the laptop in December 2019.

Rudy Giuliani arrives at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Ga., on Aug. 17, 2022. (John Bazemore/AP Photo)


<h2><strong>Treatment of Giuliani</strong></h2>
Ruskin also noted that one day ahead of Trump’s anticipated 2024 campaign launch, prosecutors announced that they were <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/rudy-giuliani-will-not-face-charges-in-ukraine-lobbying-probe-after-fbi-raid-prosecutors_4863515.html">not pursuing </a>criminal charges against Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former personal lawyer, over alleged Ukraine lobbying. The move ended a two-year probe that included a high-profile FBI raid in April 2021 that resulted in the seizure of 18 electronic devices.

“The case probably showed that they had no case and probably should have dismissed it a long time ago,” Ruskin said.

If the new Congress decides to look into the Giuliani case, one issue that could come up is whether there was sufficient probable cause for the FBI search and seizure warrant, or if the move was driven by political malice, said Ruksin. Considering Giuliani's work for Trump and the DOJ’s “questionable behavior” regarding the former president, he said “it's reasonable to speculate” the investigation was politically motivated.

The DOJ didn't return The Epoch Times' request for comment. The FBI told The Epoch Times it has "no comment."

While the planned congressional investigations may not result in criminal prosecutions, Ruskin still thinks they are a necessary step.

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” he said, quoting former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. “Bringing into the sunlight hidden acts is the best way to deal with them—Initially, at least.”

<em>This article has been updated with a response from the FBI.</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/special-counsel-investigating-trump-is-tool-to-attack-a-political-enemy-fbi-veteran_4874627.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

trump

Videos

Politics

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Marc Ruskin

biden

FBI Trump Raid

Eva Fu is a New York-based writer for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. politics, U.S.-China relations, religious freedom, and human rights. Contact Eva at eva.fu@epochtimes.com

Eva Fu

Jessica Beatty

2024 Elections

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.