The US Department of Justice Merrick Garland (70) is deploying an independent special investigator for the ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump (76). Garland announced this on Friday during a brief announcement in Washington. Lawyer Jack Smith, who also works at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, will oversee and lead the investigation with immediate effect.
In certain exceptional cases, it is in the public interest to appoint special counsel to conduct the investigation independently, he said. Given that Trump has announced a re-election to the presidency and incumbent President Joe Biden, 79, has expressed his general intention to run again, it is in the public interest in this case to entrust the investigation to a independent researcher.
Storm on the Capitol and classified documents
New special counsel Smith will handle the investigations related to classified government documents that Trump kept at his private Mar-a-Lago residence long after he left office. The FBI searched the Florida estate in August and seized several classified documents, some with the highest level of secrecy. Keeping the documents in his private home after Trump left the White House could have made him liable to prosecution. It is still unclear whether Trump can ultimately be indicted.
On the other hand, the new special investigator should handle parts of the investigation into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. After an inflammatory speech by Trump, Republican supporters violently stormed the convention center in Washington that day. At the time, they wanted to prevent Congress from making official the election victory of Trump’s successor Biden. A congressional committee of inquiry spent months investigating the attack. Several witnesses there have heavily charged Trump with their statements. The Ministry of Justice has also been investigating the attack for some time. However, it is still unclear whether the ministry can also prosecute the former president criminally.
Trump suspects witch hunts
Trump has criticized the investigation as a whole as politically motivated and has long complained that it was merely an attempt by his opponents to prevent him from returning to the White House.
Garland emphasized that the Justice Department conducted the investigation with the highest level of integrity. However, in certain exceptional cases, it is in the public interest to appoint special counsel to conduct the investigation independently. “Such an appointment underscores the ministry’s commitment to independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters,” he said. This also makes it possible to continue work quickly and make decisions “which are undoubtedly based only on the facts and the law”. He is confident that the pace of research will not slow down.
Smith is a seasoned prosecutor with a variety of professional stints in the United States and abroad. From 2008 to 2010, he worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, overseeing war crimes investigations. As of 2010, he led a team of prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice handling public corruption and election abuse cases. Most recently, Smith served as a prosecutor in a special court in The Hague charged with investigating and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo.
Smith assured after the appointment that he would conduct the investigation and resulting prosecution “independently and in the best tradition of the Department of Justice.” The investigation would not stop or slow down under his supervision. “I will make an independent judgment and proceed with the investigation promptly and thoroughly” based solely on what the facts and the law dictate. (SDA)