• General Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel.
• Garland cited Trump’s plan to run in 2024.
• Furthermore, Biden’s determination to run was a factor in the appointment.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel in two Trump-related investigations on Friday.

First, whether “any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the 2020 presidential election”

The second probes whether Trump mishandled sensitive documents after leaving office and impeded an inquiry into them.

Garland cited Trump’s plan to run in 2024 and Biden’s determination to run as factors for the appointment.

“It is in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to independently manage an investigation and prosecution based on recent developments,” Garland said.

Trump erroneously claimed the 2020 election was “stolen,” fanning conspiracy theories about the ballot count.

Such statements helped spark the January 6 Capitol incident, when Trump supporters tried to halt Biden’s confirmation. The inquiry into Trump’s role in the attack and its lead-up continues.

Garland stressed during the news conference that the special counsel “shall exercise independent prosecutorial judgment” Garland said the special counsel can “prosecute any federal offenses arising from these investigations.”

Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington, DC that Garland’s move to distance himself from the probes and appoint a special counsel is to avoid a “perceived conflict of interest.”

Jordan said the Justice Department wants to complete its work without being accused of favoring Trump or Biden.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had “no reaction” to Garland’s remarks, sending reporters to the Justice Department.

“We weren’t given advance notification,” she said. Justice Department criminal investigations are handled independently. Jean-Pierre: “We weren’t involved.”

Trump has said he won’t “participate” in the probes. “That’s wrong. Unfair! “It’s very political,” he said after Garland’s announcement.

Trump called the special counsel appointment “rigged.”

“This horrific misuse of power is the latest in a long series of witch hunts,” he told supporters at Mar-a-Lago.

Smith, the new special counsel, examines war crimes at Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in The Hague, Netherlands. From 2010 until 2015, he led the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section.

Smith will head the investigations when he returns.

Garland said Smith is “an unbiased and determined prosecutor who leads teams with vigor and purpose”

Smith oversaw a team of more than 30 prosecutors that handled public corruption and election crimes at the US Department of Justice, he said.

Given Mr. Smith’s prosecutorial background, I’m confident this nomination won’t slow the investigations, Garland said.
The investigators are acting professionally. I couldn’t be happier.”

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