Tuesday night during a town hall, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated that he will dismiss any FBI official who violates the civil liberties of Americans.
The Republican presidential candidate delivered the statement in advance of the Iowa caucuses, which commence voting in the GOP primary in less than a week.
DeSantis stated that he will immediately dismiss the FBI director and appoint a replacement, and that the U.S. Department of Justice will experience personnel turnover.
“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.” he said.
“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 continued.
Furthermore, he criticized former President Donald Trump for endorsing the FBI’s proposal to construct an enormous 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.” DeSantis added.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Gives Powerful ‘State of the State’ Speech]
