Attorney General Merrick Garland is appointing longtime Justice Department prosecutor Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee investigations into former President Donald Trump.
His probes will center on the retention of national defense information at former Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the Jan. 6, 2021, revolt.
Garland described Smith as a veteran attorney who began a decades-long prosecutorial profession in Recent York within the mid-Nineties. He’s a former acting US attorney in Tennessee and once led the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, which handles election crimes and public corruption investigations.
Most recently, Smith served as a chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, where he investigated and adjudicated war crimes in Kosovo.
Smith will begin his work as special counsel immediately and can return to america soon from The Hague, Garland said.
The attorney general said Smith has “built a status as an impartial and determined prosecutor, who leads teams with energy and focus to follow the facts wherever they lead.”
Garland added that Smith could have independent prosecutorial judgment to make a decision whether charges must be brought in either investigation.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report.
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