Status: 11/18/2022 10:14 p.m
Several investigations are underway against ex-President Trump, which are extremely politically charged in view of a presidential election campaign. The investigation has now been handed over to a special investigator.
An independent special counsel will take over the ongoing US judiciary investigation into former President Donald Trump. US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that Attorney Jack Smith will lead the investigation. In certain exceptional cases, it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel to conduct the investigation independently, he said.
In this case, given that Trump has announced a re-election for the presidency and incumbent President Joe Biden has stated his general intention to run again, it is in the public interest to entrust the investigation to an independent investigator.
The new special counsel Smith has already worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Image: dpa
Trump kept secret files in private homes
Lawyer Smith, who worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, among other things, is to deal with the investigations into secret government documents that Trump kept in his private estate Mar-a-Lago long after leaving office.
The FBI searched the Florida property in August and confiscated various classified documents, some with the highest level of secrecy. By keeping the documents in his private home after Trump left the White House, he could have made himself liable to prosecution. It is still unclear whether Trump could ultimately be charged.
Investigator also deals with attack on US Capitol
On the other hand, the new special investigator should take care of parts of the investigation into the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. After an inciting Trump speech, supporters of the Republican violently stormed the congressional center in Washington that day. At the time, they wanted to prevent Congress from making the election victory of Trump’s successor Biden official.
A committee of inquiry in Congress worked on the attack for months. Various witnesses there heavily burdened Trump with their statements. The Ministry of Justice has also been investigating the attack for a long time. However, it is still unclear whether the ministry could also initiate criminal prosecution of the ex-president.