Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced plans to name a special counsel to oversee two criminal investigations into former president Donald Trump.
The special counsel, Jack Smith, will take over investigations surrounding the extent of Trump’s involvement in the events leading to the January 6 Capitol riot and his alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents, Garland said at a press conference.
Smith is a longtime Justice Department prosecutor who has served as chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague since 2018, where he has investigated war crimes in Kosovo.
He will now be tasked with determining whether criminal charges should be filed against the former president. Garland said Smith will begin work right away and the appointment “will not slow” the investigations.
The announcement comes three days after Trump formally announced his plans to run for president again in 2024, complicating the investigations into the former president, who is now President Biden’s top political rival.
Garland cited Trump’s announcement and Biden’s “stated intention” to run in 2024 as reasons for the special counsel, saying he has “concluded that it is in the public interest.”
The appointment of a semi-independent prosecutor allows the Justice Department to address concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
In July, Garland said the DOJ will prosecute anyone who was “criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another,” not ruling out the possibility of charging Trump in the department’s January 6 investigation.
Garland’s comments came during an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, in which the news anchor asked the attorney general if he would consider prosecuting Trump even if it could “tear the country apart.”
“Look, we pursue justice without fear or favor,” Garland said. “We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable, that’s what we do.”
Law enforcement is also investigating Trump for removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violating the Espionage Act, according to the search warrant for Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago from August.
After federal agents raided Trump’s home, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said in August that Garland “must resign or be impeached.”
“The raid by Joe Biden’s FBI on the home of a former president who is also Biden’s chief political opponent is an unprecedented assault on democratic norms and the rule of law,” Hawley tweeted. “Biden has taken our republic into dangerous waters.”
“At a minimum, Garland must resign or be impeached,” he added. “The search warrant must be published. [FBI Director] Christoper Wray must be removed. And the FBI reformed top to bottom.”