AG Merrick Garland appoints special counsel to oversee Trump criminal investigations
Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped longtime federal prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee a multi-pronged investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election and the unauthorized transfer of highly classified government documents to his Florida estate after exiting the White House.
A former top Justice Department official, Smith has served as chief of the department’s Public Integrity Section, and as investigations coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands.
Garland’s appointment is an attempt to shield the Justice Department from conflicts of interest in an unprecedented criminal investigation after Trump recently announced a bid to retake the White House now occupied by Garland’s boss, President Joe Biden.
The attorney general cited Trump’s campaign announcement earlier this week and Biden’s stated intention to seek reelection in taking the extraordinary step.
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“Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said, adding that the appointment underscores a “commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.
Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed the investigation, then-Attorney General William Barr concluded that the president’s conduct did not constitute a crime.
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Federal prosecutors have been most explicit about the possible criminal consequences in the documents’ investigation, indicating that authorities are weighing possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.