The White House has denied that President Joe Biden “weaponized” the government to prosecute his chief political opponent, former President Donald Trump, for alleged Espionage Act violations.
“He was not involved. The president has been very, very clear: the Department of Justice is independent,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a regular briefing on Tuesday.
Prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have accused Biden of the “weaponization” of US law enforcement in order to go after his rival. Biden has insisted that he had nothing to do with the decision to indict Trump.
“I have never once – not one single time – suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do,” the US leader said last week.
Trump appeared in a Miami court on Tuesday, where he pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges, which include obstruction and failing to return classified documents he had retained following the end of his presidential term. Trump, who is running in the 2024 presidential election, has described the allegations against him as a “witch hunt.”
Republicans have accused the government of double standards when it comes to investigating the mishandling of classified documents by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and alleged corruption involving Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
“Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?” DeSantis wrote on Twitter last week.
Biden himself is currently under a special counsel investigation, which was launched in January after classified documents from his time as vice president under Barack Obama were discovered at his home.