Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY
News: Senate Appropriations Committee Hearings
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland has named a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into the presence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate and aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election. The role will be filled by Jack Smith, a veteran prosecutor who led the Justice Department’s public integrity section in Washington and later served as the acting chief federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee. Garland said Friday that Trump’s announcement of his presidential candidacy and President Joe Biden’s likely 2024 run were factors in his decision. A Trump spokesperson calls it a “political stunt.”
–Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
