WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Friday named a former war crimes investigator as a special counsel to oversee a criminal investigation into Donald Trump, three days after the former president announced a 2024 White House bid. day later
Trump – who claims to be the victim of a “witch hunt” – called the dramatic move “unfair” and “the worst politicization of justice in our country”.
The White House strongly denied any political interference, but the unprecedented special counsel investigation of the former president — and current presidential candidate — set the stage for a legal battle.
At a press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Jack Smith, until recently a chief prosecutor in The Hague charged with investigating Kosovo war crimes, to lead two federal investigations into Trump. can handle
Focuses on a former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The second is an investigation into a trove of classified government documents seized in an FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in August.
Garland said naming a special counsel is in the public interest because Republican Trump and his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, have both indicated their intention to run in 2024, though only Trump has yet to formally announce.
“Appointing a special counsel is the right thing to do at this time,” Garland said. “The extraordinary circumstances presented here demand it.”
White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said Biden had no prior knowledge of the plan to name Garland a special adviser.
‘Very Unfair’
Trump claimed in an interview that he was being targeted by the Biden administration to prevent him from winning the presidency again.
“It’s a disgrace and it’s only happening because I’m leading in every poll in both parties,” he said. “It’s not acceptable. It’s very unfair. It’s very political.”
“This will not be a fair investigation,” Trump later told guests at his Mar-a-Lago home.
“The appalling abuse of power is the latest in a long series of witch hunts,” he said to applause.
In a statement, Smith, who previously headed the Justice Department’s public integrity section, said “the pace of the investigation will not stop or flag under my watch.”
“I will make an independent decision and proceed with the investigation as expeditiously and fully as the facts and law dictate,” he said.
Trump’s entry into the race for the White House on Tuesday makes him a much more delicate case.
Appointing an independent prosecutor to oversee the twin probes could help shield Biden’s appointee Garland from accusations that the probes are politically motivated.
The special counsel will determine whether the former president should face any charges, but the attorney general must make the final decision on whether to press charges.
Even if impeached, the 76-year-old Trump could still run for president — something that US law does not bar anyone charged or convicted of a crime from doing so.
While in office, Trump was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for obstruction of justice and possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 election, but was not charged.
Other Legal Concerns
In addition to the federal investigation, Trump faces other legal troubles.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has filed a civil lawsuit against Trump and his three children alleging business fraud.
And Trump is being investigated for pressuring officials in the southern swing state of Georgia to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory — including a now-infamous taped phone call in which he called Secretary of State asked to “find” enough votes to overturn the result.
Trump’s unusually early announcement that he is running for president in 2024 was seen by some analysts in Washington as an attempt to stave off potential criminal charges.
Trump was impeached by the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives in 2019 for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine, and again after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but was acquitted both times by the Senate.
