Attorney General Garland Appoints Special Counsel To Determine If Trump Faces Charges

Topline

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel Friday who will decide whether former President Donald Trump should be indicted for crimes over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents, just days after Trump launched his 2024 presidential campaign.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump yells out to the media from the steps of the clubhouse of Trump … [+] National Golf Club on November 19, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Don EMMERT / AFP) (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Garland named former DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith, who most recently worked as a special prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague investigating war crimes in Kosovo, as special counsel.

Discussions about appointing a special counsel were underway among Justice Department officials earlier this month ahead of Trump’s announcement, due to concerns the Biden Administration could be accused of a conflict of interest since Trump is now formally a political rival, according to CNN.

Trump blasted the appointment, telling Fox News he “won’t partake” in the investigation while urging Republicans to “fight this.”

Trump announced Tuesday night that he’s running for president again, and he has blasted the investigations as politically motivated.

Crucial Quote

“Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” Garland said in a statement.

Key Background

Trump faces two Justice Department investigations: one over his decision to bring a trove of classified documents—including some records marked as “top secret” to Mar-A-Lago—and the other over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump claims all the records he brought to Mar-A-Lago were unclassified, but he’s provided little evidence to back that up, while he hasn’t relented on his unfounded belief that he was robbed of winning the 2020 election due to widespread fraud. This is the third time in five years a special counsel has been called to scrutinize issues relating to Trump—an investigation overseen by Robert Mueller into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election did not result in any charges, while a probe led by John Durham into the origins of concerns about Russian interference remains ongoing.

What To Watch For

Prosecutors in both DOJ investigations have been aiming to bring witnesses before a grand jury in the next few weeks, according to CNN.

Tangent

Trump carries immense legal baggage apart from the federal investigations. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a civil lawsuit against Trump in September accusing him of committing financial fraud by purposely misvaluing assets, while the Manhattan district attorney is reviewing similar allegations in a criminal probe. Trump is also the subject of a criminal investigation in Georgia over his attempts to overturn the state’s election results.