U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has Appointed a Special Counsel to Oversee the Justice Department’s (DOJ) Investigations into Trump, just days after Trump announced his intent to seek the President Office again in 2024, for One Term.
Garland said Jack Smith, a longtime Prosecutor and current War Crimes Investigator, would take the helm of Two Investigations, One into the Mishandling of Sensitive Government Records at Mar-a-Lago, and Aspects of the Investigation into Jan. 6., 2021 covering “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power.”
Smith, who was Investigating War Crimes in Kosovo, through a Post at The Hague, has Resigned and will be returning to the U.S. A Veteran Prosecutor, he has been working his way through the Ranks at DOJ since 1994, serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York and eventually a U.S. Attorney in Tennessee.
Smith’s new role will put him at the Center of what is sure to be a Political Firestorm. “I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice,” Smith said in a Statement. “The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate.”
The Special Counsel will still Report to Garland, a detail Critics say assures the DOJ will be unable to Sidestep inevitable Complaints from Trump allies who have already spent years echoing Trump’s Claims that the DOJ is Politicized. It’s also sure to Complicate matters for a DOJ that may be eager to bring any eventual Prosecutions well before the 2024 Election cycle heats up.
Garland sought to address that in his Remarks: “I will ensure that the special counsel receives the resources to conduct this work quickly and completely. Given the work to date and Mr. Smith’s prosecutorial experience, I am confident that this appointment will not slow the completion of these investigations,” he said.
The Mechanics of the Special Counsel Investigation aren’t entirely clear, including how it would be Staffed and whether the existing Line Attorneys on the Case would essentially shift over.
Garland did, however, say that the Special Counsel would Not oversee the Prosecution of those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“This does not include prosecutions that are currently pending in the District of Columbia, or future investigations and prosecutions of individuals for offenses committed while they were physically present in the capital grounds on Jan. 6,” he said.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment