RFK Jr. vows to appoint special counsel to look into Capitol riot cases against Trump, supporters
Just what America needs: More special counsels.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed Friday to appoint a special counsel to review cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot against rival Donald Trump and his supporters if Kennedy wins the Oval Office — arguing one can oppose the former president but still be “disturbed by the weaponization of government against him.”
“As President, I will appoint a special counsel — an individual respected by all sides — to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends in this case, and I will right any wrongs that we discover. Without the impartial rule of law, there is no true democracy or moral governance,” Kennedy, 70, said in a lengthy statement released by his campaign.
Trump, 77, was indicted Aug. 1 of last year on charges related to his attempt to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
That case, brought by special counsel Jack Smith, is currently on hold while the Supreme Court considers whether Trump can claim “total immunity” for actions taken during his presidency.
As of January, more than 1,230 people had been charged with federal crimes in connection with the riot, which disrupted the formal count of electoral votes in Biden’s favor. Roughly 730 people had pleaded guilty to charges, while roughly 170 more had been convicted of at least one charge at a trial decided by a judge or a jury, according to an Associated Press database.
Since the spring of 2017, the Justice Department has tapped five special counsels to probe various matters: Robert Mueller, John Durham, Smith, Robert Hur, and David Weiss.
RFK Jr. also said that “reasonable people” have told him that “there is little evidence of a true insurrection” taking place that day.
“Like many reasonable Americans, I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment,” he said. “That would fit a disturbing pattern of the weaponization of government agencies — the DOJ, the IRS, the SEC, the FBI, etc. — against political opponents.”
Kennedy admitted Jan. 6 was “one of the most polarizing topics on the political landscape” and said “I am listening to people of diverse viewpoints on it in order to make sense of the event and what followed. I want to hear every side.”
On Thursday, a Kennedy fundraising email was sent describing Jan. 6 defendants as “activists.”
“This is the reality that every American Citizen faces — from Ed Snowden, to Julian Assange to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties,” the email said. “Please help our campaign call out the illiberal actions of our very own government.”
Kennedy’s campaign rapidly issued a statement disavowing the fundraising email and claimed that a third-party vendor was responsible.
Kennedy has a history of saying he would be willing to look at potentially pardoning Jan. 6 protesters.
Last month, he told Fox News he would “look at individual cases” in regards to issuing pardons for the protesters.
He also told The Jimmy Dore Show in March of 2023 that Democrats have had an “obsession” about Jan. 6 and that “it’s much more serious if we’re starting to censor free speech” because “you can rebuild a Capitol.”
For his part, Trump has said he would give “full pardons with an apology to many” and has recently started calling Jan. 6 prisoners “hostages.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
