Special counsel in Trump investigations is a former war crimes prosecutor

The US Justice Department on Friday named the former chief prosecutor for the special war crimes tribunal in the Hague to oversee two criminal probes into former president Donald Trump.

"Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the appointment of former career Justice Department prosecutor and former chief prosecutor for the special court in the Hague, Jack Smith, to serve as special counsel to oversee two ongoing criminal investigations," the department said in a statement.

Trump is being investigated over a cache of government documents uncovered in an FBI raid on his south Florida home and his involvement in the 2021 assault on the US Capitol in Washington.