Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints Jack Smith as special counsel to investigate Donald Trump

TO UPDATE: Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as a special prosecutor to lead the investigation into former President Donald Trump.

Referring to Trump’s recently announced presidential bid and Joe Biden’s intention to seek re-election, Garland said, “I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel.”

“Such an appointment underlines the department’s commitment to independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters,” said Garland. “It also allows prosecutors and agents to quickly get on with their work and make decisions that are undeniably guided only by facts and the law.”

Smith was a federal and state attorney and a war crimes prosecutor. He was a specialist prosecutor for The Hague in the Netherlands, but resigned from this position.

Garland said Smith will have independent judgment from the prosecutor in deciding whether to file charges.

“I am confident that this appointment will not delay the completion of these investigations,” he said.

Smith will oversee two investigations: whether someone interfered with the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election and the confirmation of the electoral votes on January 6. research.

EARLY 11:06 AM: Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to announce the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Donald Trump’s handling of classified material at Mar-a-Lago, as well as an investigation into efforts to revise the results of the 2020 presidential election .

The Associated Press and other media reported that Garland planned to make the announcement Friday afternoon. The appointment of the special counsel comes just days after Trump launched his 2024 presidential campaign, with the former president already attacking ongoing DOJ investigations as politically motivated.

In August, the FBI seized classified material at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. This was followed by efforts by the National Archives to secure the return of documents Trump brought with him at the end of his presidency. According to the National Archives, the documents belong to the US government, not Trump, under the Presidential Records Act. The DOJ is also investigating the obstruction of the investigation.

The Justice Department also conducted an investigation into the events leading up to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, including efforts to create a list of pro-Trump alternative voters.

According to the AP, the special counsel will continue to report to Garland.

There is more to come.