Garland names special counsel to lead Trump-related probes
Published:Friday | November 18, 2022 | 7:33 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel on Friday to oversee the Justice Department's investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the January 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.
The appointment of veteran prosecutor Jack Smith, announced just three days after Trump formally launched his 2024 candidacy, is a recognition of the unmistakable political implications of two investigations that involve not only a former president but also a current White House hopeful.
It installs a new chain of command over sensitive probes seen as likely to accelerate now that the midterm elections have concluded, with Garland citing Trump's entry into the race and President Joe Biden's stated intention to run again as reasons for Smith's sudden appointment.
“The Department of Justice has long recognised that in certain extraordinary cases, it is in the public's interest to appoint a special prosecutor to independently manage an investigation and prosecution,” Garland said from the Justice Department's podium.
Smith, who led the Justice Department's public integrity section in Washington and later served as the acting chief federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Obama administration, is set to begin his work immediately, Garland said.
He has been serving since 2018 as chief prosecutor for the special court in the Hague that is tasked with investigating international war crimes.
The Justice Department described Smith as a registered independent, an effort to blunt any attack of perceived political bias.
Trump is a Republican, and Biden is a Democrat.
A Trump spokesperson responded to the appointment by calling it “a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicised, weaponised Biden Department of Justice.”
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