On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a special counsel to oversee the investigations into Donald Trump's storing of classified information at Mar-a-Lago and the events surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The announcement comes on the heels of Trump announcing that he's running for president in 2024.
Jack Smith, who is the former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague where he investigated war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, will oversee the investigations.
According to reports, Trump lawyers are allegedly "dreading" the appointment of a special counsel. When asked why a special counsel worried Trump's lawyers, CNN's Paula Reid said it's because the appointment signals that the investigations against Trump are intensifying.
"There's a lot of outstanding questions in that investigation, including the sorting through of classified material, of privilege, personal material ... We knew this was going to take a while, but by appointing a special counsel, they have sent a message that -- particularly the Mar-a-Lago investigation and January 6 -- they're going to continue, they are possible even ramping up," Reid said.
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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 at this point.
"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.
The special counsel will determine whether the former president -- who says he is a victim of political persecution -- should face charges in connection with either investigation.
Trump's entry into the White House race on Tuesday makes indicting him a much more delicate matter.
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The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the investigation could serve to help insulate Garland, a Biden appointee, from charges that the probe is politically motivated.
The special counsel would still report to the attorney general, who would have the ultimate say on whether charges should be brought.
Even if charged, Trump can still run for president -- nothing in US law bars a person charged with or convicted of a crime from doing so.
While in office, Trump was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller over obstruction of justice and possible election collusion with Russia but no charges were brought against him.
Trump's unusually early announcement that he was running for president again in 2024 was seen by some analysts in Washington as an attempt to stave off potential criminal charges.
The 76-year-old Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 for seeking political dirt on Biden from Ukraine and again after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by his supporters but acquitted by the Senate.
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With additional reporting by AFP
