Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called for the Department of Justice to investigate special counsel Jack Smith for the timing of his prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

The Florida congressman’s call to investigate Smith comes as the special counsel is seeking to expedite the legal process ahead of the 2024 presidential election, in which the former president is running for office again. Gaetz accused Smith of committing “explicit election interference.”

“If you look at the Amy Coney Barrett concurrence in the Colorado case, she makes specific note of the fact that this is all erupting during a political season,” Gaetz said on Fox News’s Hannity. “Just like the inspector general exposed the Russia hoax for election interference, now he ought to sink his teeth into Jack Smith.”

Gaetz was referencing the December 2019 report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, which indicated that there were multiple errors in the FBI and DOJ’s investigation into the claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

The congressman also claimed that Smith has started saying “the quiet part out loud” for how he has filed to have his trial for Trump started ahead of the 2024 election. That timing, Gaetz claimed, is not about facts or the law, but about “derailing” Trump’s 2024 campaign.

“Good thing we have an inspector general who’s blown up election interference in the past and has the power and the obligation to take it up and do so again,” Gaetz said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

On Thursday, Smith rejected Trump’s claims that the classified documents case against him in Florida should be dismissed. Trump was indicted last year after it was discovered he was storing classified documents from the White House at this Mar-a-Lago property. The former president has argued that he was authorized under the Presidential Records Act to declassify those documents and that his actions were protected by presidential immunity.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, has set an argument date for Trump’s motions to dismiss for Thursday, saying parties should prepare for a full day of arguments.