Breaking news from the Wall Street Journal:
“Attorney General Merrick Garland will appoint a special counsel to determine whether former President Donald Trump should face charges stemming from Justice Department probes, according to a person familiar with the matter.”
Updates as they come through:
Jack Smith (Credit: public domain)
- AG Garland named former federal prosecutor Jack Smith as Special Counsel. Smith most recently worked at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. From 2010 to 2015, Smith served as Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the US Department of Justice, where he oversaw complex public corruption cases across the US. Further information on Smith can be found here.
- The scope of Smith’s appointment includes January 6 and the ongoing classified/national security documents investigation. As to January 6, Smith is tasked to “conduct the ongoing investigation into
What of Jack Smith’s past? Here’s some background on his connections to Lois Lerner and his involvement in the IRS targeting scandal back in the early 2010s:
In their letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Committee said, “The Justice Department convened a meeting with former IRS official Lois Lerner in October 2010 to discuss how the IRS could assist in the criminal enforcement of campaign-finance laws against politically active nonprofits. This meeting was arranged at the direction of Public Integrity Section Chief Jack Smith.”
As to January 6, Smith is tasked to “conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021.”
With respect to the Mar-a-Lago raid, Smith “is further authorized to conduct that investigation . . . and any matters that arise or may arise directly from that investigation.”
Here is the appointing document
If you’re concerned about new Special Counsel Jack Smith, here’s reason for further warning – an endorsement from corrupt Special Counsel Mueller member Andrew Weissmann:
Jack Smith, the new Special Counsel, is a very aggressive prosecutor who represents the best of the Department, who will bring cases if warranted be fact sand the law.
— Andrew Weissmann 🌻 (@AWeissmann_) November 18, 2022
For the Biden DOJ, this step is no surprise. They would have planned for it to take place once Trump announced his candidacy. And sure enough, here we are. While the special counsel is quasi-independent, allegedly, it will still be subject to the control of Attorney General Garland. (Read more: Techno Fog/The Reactionary, 11/18/2022) (Archive)