Rick Renzi Blasts Jack Smith, Calls for Reform of Prosecutorial Immunity

When former Arizona congressman Rick Renzi sat down with Breitbart’s Washington bureau chief Matthew Boyle, he sounded less like a polished politician and more like a man who had spent years staring down the barrel of a courtroom gun.

Renzi, who served the 1st District from 2003‑2009, said the legal nightmare began after he repeatedly won a seat that he described as “almost 60 % Democrat,” largely thanks to strong support from the Navajo Nation. According to Renzi, that very success put him in the cross‑hairs of former special counsel Jack Smith.

“They brought false charges,” Renzi alleged, adding that investigators “wiretapped my attorney 41 times” and deliberately hid evidence that could have helped his defense. He even claimed an FBI agent was caught shredding exculpatory material, prompting his team to file a 190‑page complaint with the Inspector General.

What rattles Renzi most, he says, is the way Smith allegedly turned the judicial process into a political weapon. “What’s proven about Jack Smith is that he uses the process,” Renzi told Boyle. “He’ll fabricate charges, invent the law, and then use the process to destroy you politically.”

Renzi drew a parallel to Smith’s high‑profile probe of former President Donald Trump, arguing that indictments were timed for maximum political impact. “The way he rushed his indictments against the president— all politically timed— that’s what he did in my case,” Renzi insisted.

According to Renzi, the crux of his own case involved an international mining company that wanted to extract copper near the San Carlos Apache Reservation. He says he was defending tribal interests when lobbyists for the company allegedly conspired with Smith’s office to “invent” charges of strong‑arming a private firm.

He recounted a string of plea offers that grew increasingly generous – from four years in prison to a final deal of ten months and a single felony – yet he refused each one. “I was fasting, praying, and thinking of my nine boys and five girls,” he said. “I said no, and they took me to trial.”

The indictment, Renzi recalled, arrived on the day he was delivering a eulogy for his father, a two‑star Army general, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Virginia. “Reporters swarmed the parking lot while my family was trying to leave with my dad’s casket,” he remembered, adding that the news of his 20‑felony indictment hit like a punch.

Renzi argues that Smith’s tactics extend beyond courtroom maneuvers. He claims prosecutors targeted his lawyers – even indicting one who was later cleared – and repeatedly “de‑banked” him, cutting off the funds he needed to mount a defense, including once during the Christmas season when he was buying gifts for his twelve children.

On Capitol Hill, Renzi says Smith gave misleading answers when senators and representatives asked about contacts with former CIA Director John Brennan and about whether the Justice Department had gathered data on members of Congress. According to Renzi, those evasions have already prompted Rep. Jim Jordan to refer the matter for criminal investigation.

Renzi, who served a prison term after his 2013 conviction and later received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, concluded the interview with a call to action: “It’s sovereign immunity, Matt. We have to stop letting the lords of the palace act above the law and give the public a real, independent check on prosecutorial power.”