US attorney general names Hague prosecutor as special counsel to lead Trump investigations
- Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor Jack Smith to oversee investigations into classified documents found at Trump’s home and the 2021 insurrection
- Smith, who has been chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague that investigates international war crimes, will begin immediately, Garland said
US 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 important aspects of a separate investigation involving the January 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election.
The move, 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.
Garland said on Friday that Trump’s announcement of his presidential candidacy and US President Joe Biden’s likely 2024 run were factors in his decision to appoint Jack Smith, a veteran prosecutor, to be the special counsel. Garland said the appointment would allow prosecutors to continue their work “indisputably guided” only by the facts and the law.
“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. “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.”
Though the appointment installs a new supervisor atop the investigations – both of which are expected to accelerate now that the midterm elections are over – the special counsel will still report to Garland, who has ultimate say of whether to bring charges.
Smith, a veteran prosecutor who led the Justice Department’s public integrity section in Washington and who later served as the acting chief federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Obama administration, is set to begin his work “immediately,” Garland said. Smith has also been the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal 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.
“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.”
