Advertisement

Trump responds after Merrick Garland appoints special counsel for criminal investigations

Jack Smith, former vice president of litigation for Hospital Corp. of America and most recently chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, will oversee two criminal investigations of former President Donald Trump. File Photo by Jerry Lampen/EPA-EFE
Jack Smith, former vice president of litigation for Hospital Corp. of America and most recently chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, will oversee two criminal investigations of former President Donald Trump. File Photo by Jerry Lampen/EPA-EFE

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump on Friday responded after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to decide whether to criminally charge him in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation.

Trump, in a speech he shared on Rumble, said that the "egregiously corrupt" administration of President Joe Biden administration has "weaponized the Department of Justice."

Advertisement

"This horrendous abuse of power is the latest in a long series of witch hunts started a long time ago," Trump said.

"I thought the investigation with the document [unintelligble] was dying or dead or over and the investigation into Jan. 6 and my very peaceful and patriotic speech ... was dead."

Trump said that the loss of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in the Republican primary this summer was the "final nail in the coffin" of the investigation into the insurrection.

Advertisement

Cheney broke with much of her party to serve as the vice chair of the U.S. House select committee investigating the riot at the Capitol.

"The corrupt and highly political Justice Department just appointed a super radical left special counsel, better referred to as a special prosecutor, to start the process all over again," Trump said.

Garland said it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel.

Jack Smith, former vice president of litigation for Hospital Corp. of America and most recently chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, will oversee the two criminal investigations.

Smith began his prosecutorial career in 1994 in the New York County District Attorney's office. He then became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where he worked for nine years, handling everything from organized crime to civil rights cases, according to a Justice Department biography.

The Justice Department said in a statement the investigations will determine "whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about Jan. 6, 2021, and the ongoing investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records."

Advertisement

Garland said Smith will begin his work immediately.

"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 at a brief news conference.

"Such an appointment underscores the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters. It also allows prosecutors and agents to continue their work expeditiously, and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law."

Smith has resigned as the chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, which is charged with investigating and adjudicating war crimes in Kosovo. He will return to the United States immediately to begin his special counsel work, Garland said.

"Given the work done to date and Mr. Smith's prosecutorial experience, I am confident that this appointment will not slow the completion of these investigations," Garland said in a live streamed announcement from the Justice Department.

"Although the special counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department, he must comply with the regulations, procedures and policies of the department. I will ensure that the special counsel receives the resources to conduct this work quickly and completely," Garland said.

Advertisement

He said the special counsel will not take over investigations in the District of Colombia, which will continue under the U.S. attorney there.

The appointment of a special counsel occurred just two days after Trump declared his intention to run again for president in 2024.

Trump faces multiple investigations into possible criminal activity.

His company, the Trump Organization, is on trial in New York City for alleged tax fraud. Former CFO Allen Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to a role in that fraud and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Latest Headlines