Justice Department appoints Jack Smith as Trump’s special counsel

Dhe US Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to be responsible for the investigation of former President Donald Trump. Garland said Friday in Washington he had entrusted Jack Smith with the task. Smith used to head a department at the Justice Department that investigated government corruption. From 2018 he was chief prosecutor in The Hague, investigating alleged war crimes.

Smith will lead two separate investigations, it said. On the one hand, there are alleged attempts by Trump to interfere in the legitimate transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election; on the other hand, how to deal with government files, some of which are classified, which Trump took with him to his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, when he left the White House. In this context, there is also the question of whether there was an obstruction of justice.

Garland emphasized that a special counsel acting independently of the official hierarchy could be used if there was a public interest. Because of recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he would run for office again in 2024, and President Joe Biden’s intention to do the same, he has concluded that there is such a public interest. The appointment of the Special Counsel underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability on particularly sensitive matters.

Trump called the appointment of the special counsel “unfair” and motivated by partisan politics. Trump announced on Tuesday that after 2016 and 2020 he would run again for the Republican presidential nomination in two years. In his speech, he described himself as a victim in view of the various investigations against him. In Washington, it had been speculated that Trump’s candidacy not only wanted to forestall internal party competitors, but also to raise the hurdle for the Justice Department to indict him.