- A special investigator is being deployed in the ongoing investigation into ex-President Donald Trump.
- This was announced by US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
- Lawyer Jack Smith is to oversee and direct the investigation from now on.
Garland justified the step by saying that a few days ago Trump had announced a new presidential bid for 2024. Because President Joe Biden has also declared the general intention to run again, it is in the public interest to place the investigation in the hands of an independent investigator.
Legend:
US Attorney General Merrick Garland addresses the media in Washington to announce the appointment of the Special Counsel. (11/18/22)
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
On the one hand, Smith is to deal with the investigations into secret government documents that Trump kept in his private home Mar-a-Lago after leaving office.
The FBI searched the Florida property in August and confiscated various classified documents, some with the highest level of secrecy. By keeping the documents in his private home long after Trump left office, he could have committed a criminal offense. It is still unclear whether Trump will ultimately be charged.
Attack on the Capitol also in focus
On the other hand, the new special investigator should take care of parts of the investigation into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. After an inciting Trump speech, supporters of the Republican violently stormed the congressional center in Washington that day. At the time, they wanted to prevent Congress from making Biden’s election victory official.
A committee of inquiry in Congress worked on the attack for months. Various witnesses there heavily burdened Trump with their statements. The Ministry of Justice has also been conducting extensive investigations into the attack and those involved for a long time. However, it is still unclear whether the ministry could also prosecute the ex-president because of his role in it.
Trump criticizes the investigation as a whole as politically motivated and has long complained that it was just an attempt by his opponents to prevent him from returning to the White House.
Special Counsel promises steadfastness
Garland stressed that the Justice Department had conducted the investigation with the highest level of integrity. However, in certain exceptional cases, it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel to conduct the investigation independently.
“Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters,” he said. This also makes it possible to continue the work quickly and to make decisions “which are undoubtedly only based on the facts and the law”. He is convinced that the pace of the investigation will not slow down.
Smith assured after the nomination that he would conduct the investigation and the resulting prosecution measures “independently and in the best tradition of the Department of Justice”. The investigations would neither pause nor slow down under his supervision. “I will make an independent judgment and pursue the investigation swiftly and thoroughly.”
Trump announced Tuesday night at his Florida home that he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. He is the first to announce an official candidacy for the presidency.