AP: U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to lead the Justice Department’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate as well as significant portions of a separate investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, revolution and attempts to void the results of the 2020 election.
Three days after Trump officially announced his 2024 candidacy, the choice of veteran prosecutor Jack Smith signaled a realization of the obvious political ramifications of two investigations involving both a former president and a current candidate for the White House. With Garland citing Trump’s entry into the race and President Joe Biden’s declared intention to run again as reasons for Smith’s unexpected appointment, it establishes a new chain of command over sensitive investigations that are expected to pick up speed now that the midterm elections have been completed.
Garland said; “The Department of Justice has long recognized that in certain extraordinary cases, it is in the public’s interest to appoint a special prosecutor to independently manage an investigation and prosecution.”
During the Obama administration, Smith served as the interim chief federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee, after leading the Justice Department’s public integrity department in Washington. He is scheduled to start working right away, according to Garland. He has been working as the head prosecutor for the Hague-based special court since 2018 as it looks into global war crimes.
As a defense against accusations of political prejudice, the Justice Department portrayed Smith as a registered independent.
“Throughout his career, Jack Smith has built a reputation as an impartial and determined prosecutor who leads teams with energy and focus to follow the facts wherever they lead,” Garland said. “As special counsel, he will exercise independent prosecutorial judgment to decide whether charges should be brought.”
“The extraordinary circumstances here demand it,” Garland said of the appointment.
In a statement released by the Justice Department, Smith said he intended to do his work independently and “in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.”
“The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch,” he vowed.
Trump’s spokesperson responded to the appointment by calling it “a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice.”
The appointment was described as “a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice” by a Trump official in response.
Smith will take over two ongoing investigations that include Trump as special counsel. One relates to potential involvement in the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election when Trump’s allies sought ways to alter the outcome of the campaign won by Biden. The other concerns Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, where sensitive documents are kept on file.
Prosecutors last month granted immunity to a close Trump associate to secure his testimony before a federal grand jury, marking a particularly rapid uptick in the Mar-a-Lago investigation. Prosecutors in that investigation have spoken with a variety of witnesses. They have raised legal issues over the existence of top-secret documents in Mar-a-Lago despite stringent regulations governing the handling of classified information in court papers. Additionally, they allege attempts to impede that investigation.
Smith will have the authority to decide whether charges should be filed as part of his investigations and to bring legal action against anyone who violates the law. Although Garland would continue to serve as attorney general and have the final say over his work, he emphasized Smith’s ability to make decisions independently.
