Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said during a town hall on Tuesday night that he will fire any FBI official who violates Americans’ civil liberties.
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks as voting in the GOP primary begins in less than a week with the Iowa caucuses.
“The Left has weaponized the FBI, DOJ, and the IRS against their political enemies, including President Trump,” a voter said at the town hall. “When you’re president, will there be a reckoning for this abuse of power?”
DeSantis responded: “That’s an easy answer. Yes. And we’re going to do it on day one. We’re going to be ready to go. Because here’s the thing. Those agencies have become weaponized. I mean, you look at what they’ve done. I mean, I first saw it when I first ran for Congress. I had groups in my district where the IRS was targeting those conservative groups back there in 2012, and it’s like a small nonprofit that’s just talking about the Constitution. Under Obama, they did it, and no one was held accountable for doing that. Then you had the Russia collusion, where they went after President Trump — false theory about stealing the ‘16 election. They kneecapped him any way they could. Nobody was held accountable for that. So you’re going to keep getting these outcomes until you have a president that comes in and drops the hammer.”
DeSantis said that he will fire the FBI director and hire a new one on day one and that there will be heads that roll at the U.S. Department of Justice. He also criticized former President Donald Trump for supporting the FBI wanting to build a massive new headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“Here’s the thing, those are not independent agencies,” he said. “There’s a canard in Washington that the beltway press will say, ‘Oh, the president can’t be involved in the Department of Justice. That’s politicizing it.’ No, if they’re independent of who the elected president is, that means they’re unaccountable. You don’t want unaccountable power for people who can put you in jail and people that have guns.”
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“If an FBI agent is going after parents going to a school board meeting, I’m firing those people,” he continued. “If the FBI is colluding with big tech to censor dissent in this country, I’m firing those people. If the FBI is passing around memos saying observant Catholics are potential terrorists, I’m firing those people. So there’s going to be a reckoning, and not just for those agencies. There’s going to be a reckoning for the agencies that plunged this country into lockdown during COVID — Anthony Fauci, CDC, NIH, all those agencies, FDA, you’re going to see major accountability, because if we want to change the way this government operates, you’ve got to hold the people accountable who are responsible for the madness, and I will do that.”
WATCH:
If FBI agents are going after parents going to a school board meeting, I’m firing those people.
If the FBI is colluding with Big Tech to censor dissent in this country, I’m firing those people.
If the FBI is passing around memos saying observant Catholics are potential… pic.twitter.com/VaNwt86ySC
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 9, 2024