US Justice Dept Taps Independent Prosecutor For Trump Probes

Umer Jamshaid Published November 19, 2022 | 02:10 AM

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Nov, 2022 ) :The US Justice Department on Friday named a former war crimes investigator as a special counsel to oversee criminal probes into Donald Trump, three days after the former president announced a new White House run in 2024.

The dramatic move sets up the prospect of a drawn-out legal battle, with Trump likely to claim he is being targeted by the administration of Joe Biden to prevent him winning back the presidency.

At a press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of Jack Smith, until recently a chief prosecutor in The Hague charged with probing Kosovo war crimes, to take over the two ongoing Federal investigations into Trump.

One is focused on the former president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

The other is an investigation into a cache of classified government documents seized in an FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in August.

Garland said naming a special counsel was in the public interest because both the Republican Trump and his Democratic successor Biden have stated their intention to run in 2024 -- although only Trump has officially declared for now.

"Appointing a special counsel at this time is the right thing to do," Garland said. "Such an appointment underscores the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.

"The extraordinary circumstances presented here demand it," he said, adding that Smith was the "right choice to complete these matters in an even-handed and urgent manner."In a statement, Smith, who previously headed the Justice Department's Public Integrity section, said he would conduct his investigation "independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.""The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch," he said. "I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate."