Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Both investigations implicate the conduct of Trump, who on Tuesday declared his candidacy in the 2024 presidential race, making him a potential rival of President Joe Biden.

“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 at the Justice Department on Friday. Jack Smith, the former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo, will oversee the investigations. Smith “has built the reputation as an impartial and determined prosecutor,” Garland said at the Justice Department on Friday. Trump has sought to paint the investigations as politically motivated, including at his Tuesday presidential announcement, where he said he was the victim of a “weaponization” of the justice system.

According to multiple sources, both the Mar-a-Lago investigation and the January 6 investigation around Trump are aiming to gather more information and bring witnesses into a federal grand jury in the coming weeks. Prosecutors sent out several new subpoenas related to both investigations in recent days, with quick return dates as early as next week. Some of the witnesses being pursued in this round had not spoken to the investigators in these cases before, according to some of the sources.

Trump’s team had been discussing in recent days the likelihood that the Justice Department would appoint a special counsel, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. Trump’s lawyers had been dreading the prospect, concerned it could drag out the investigation they have fought continuously in court. And Trump himself has complained about the matter, likening the prospect to former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw the Russia investigation.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/politics ... index.html

Smart, make it as non-partisan as possible.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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The federal rules on appointing a special counsel, from the Code of Federal Regulations.
28 CFR § 600.1 - Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.
The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and -

(a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and

(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.1
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Merrick Garland's order appointing John L. (Jack) Smith as special counsel.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-relea ... 6/download

His jurisdiction includes the current Maraloco documents search warrant cases in federal courts in DC, FL and GA. And authority to prosecute any persons surrounding J6 except those who invaded the Capitol Bldg and any recommendations for prosecution that might come from the J6 House Committee.
Merrick Garland's decision to appoint a special counsel indicates that this administration is painfully aware that these cases involve the highest of political stakes. A move by Joe Biden's justice department to charge a man who could be facing off against him in the 2024 presidential general election would be viewed by as much as half the country as suspicious, regardless of any assurances of impartiality. Handing this off to a special counsel, and giving that counsel power to do as he sees fit, provides the Biden administration at least a measure of insulation against such allegations. It also suggests the justice department believes there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Trump, as a case without merit could have been simply abandoned without action.

All this is serious business for Mr Trump and his closest allies, just days after he launched his third bid for the White House. Special counsel inquiries tend to take on lives of their own, and find new prosecutorial avenues to explore, as did Robert Mueller's Russia probe and similar investigations during the George W Bush and Bill Clinton presidencies. Mr Garland has set in motion a whirlwind whose ultimate course will be difficult to predict.

"I intend to conduct the assigned investigations, and any prosecutions that may result from them, independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice," Mr Smith said in a statement shortly after his appointment. "The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch," he added. "I will exercise independent judgement and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63684546

Smith has a lot of experience prosecuting international war criminals and Trump has dealings overseas in addition to the US. Trump is already trying to paint Smith as a lefty, he's a registered independent. This puts any Trump prosecutions at arms length from Garland and Biden.

Now how quickly can Smith assemble his team of lawyers and investigators and assume responsibility for the cases surrounding Maraloco. One more headache for Trump and he can't use RNC funds to pay his legal bills since he's declared for 2024.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 9:24 am And TOS is shitting bricks as the walls close in.
Yes and as I mentioned in another thread Jack Smith hunts big game. I'd be very concerned if he was hunting me.
It's almost as bad as having Sikacz hounding your ass. Lol
Have you read Smiths background? Wow
I doubt TOT will get away with brushing him off as biased.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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A Republican tried to resurrect that House Rule in 2017 when Republicans held the trifecta. Any bill with the Holman Rule that targets one or more federal employees has to pass the Senate and get signed by Biden to become law and that will never happen. As usual MTG is throwing red meat to her followers. https://archive.ph/SQL9H

The goal of the opposition party is to attack and make the ruling party look incompetent and corrupt. Pelosi and Schumer did it during the Trump administration and Democrats have done it under all Republican administrations, Bush I and II, Reagan, Nixon, Eisenhower... And Republicans did in the the Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy...administrations. That's why politicians look slimy, they're constantly in attack mode except for very few major national events like 9/11 and world wars, when we suddenly realize that we're all Americans.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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CDFingers wrote: Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:34 am Greene immediately wants to defund Smith under the Holman Rule.

CDFingers
I wonder which Repug told here about the Holman Rule. She doesn't have brains enough to have known about it on her on. Maybe we should apply the rule to MTG.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Colleen Kavanagh, who worked with Mr. Smith in Brooklyn, described him as a “quintessential public servant” who was preternaturally driven to pursue big cases, the kind of man who did only two things outside of spending time with his wife, a documentary filmmaker, and their daughter: work and work out. “There’s no mystery here,” Ms. Kavanagh said. “He’s a hardworking, smart person who knows how to move cases. That’s who he is: He comes in and gets things done.”
Colleagues there describe Mr. Smith as well-liked, with a reputation as meticulous and modest.

“You want an idealist and a brilliant independent thinker and a gutsy lawyer, then you got him,” said Alan Tieger, a senior American prosecutor at the Kosovo tribunal. A triathlon enthusiast, Mr. Smith routinely bikes to the office, eschewing a driver or bodyguards, as is typical of some other senior officials at international courts in The Hague, according to people who know him. But Mr. Smith recently fractured his leg after a scooter ran into him while he was cycling. Until he recovers, he will run the Trump investigations from the Netherlands, according to the Justice Department.

Mr. Breuer, recalling his experience in bringing Mr. Smith back from Europe 12 years ago, echoed Mr. Garland in describing him as the right person for the job. “I needed someone who would bring in new blood to that section,” Mr. Breuer said. “And all roads led to Jack. He was practical, an excellent lawyer and leader, and he really moves cases along.” He added, “I’ve got to assume that some of those criteria were why they made the decision they made today.”
https://archive.ph/mJ6NZ
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Jim Jordan shouts smears while threatening to investigate special counsel Jack Smith

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) threatened to investigate special counsel Jack Smith after he was appointed to lead an investigation into former President Donald Trump's misuse of government documents and his effort to subvert the 2020 presidential election

During an interview with Jordan on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo wondered why Attorney General Merrick Garland had not also appointed a special counsel to look into President Joe Biden's son Hunter.

"Well, I think it's just one more example of just how political the Justice Department has become," Jordan replied.

Jordan took aim at Smith because he had discussions about opening investigations into conservative non-profits during President Barack Obama's term. But the investigations never moved forward.
[/quote

Full story: https://www.rawstory.com/jim-jordan-jack-smith/

Let the political games begin. Rep. Gym Jordan should only be allowed to investigate college gym showers.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Jim Jordan of OH is apparently the next chair of the House Judiciary Committee when Republicans control the chamber in 2023, it's the committee that approves articles of impeachment. Jordan has a law degree, but he doesn't practice law. A tough two years ahead for the Democrats especially Biden and his family.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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I’d actually enjoy seeing Jungle Gym Jordan’s choke himself on an investigation of Hunter Biden which over time simply loses steam and support when the Conservatives in the GOP walk away due to lack of substance or interest. The midterms have shown us just how this can happen due to voters who are tired of loudmouths that lack substance, willingness or ability to solve problems or get anything done in government that help.

There really is only so much BS that any politician can use to rally around (“his laptop,” “her emails”) when they choose to ignore Jan 6th and video evidence of Sedition on CNN (TOS inciting a riot to stop certification an election). And if Winning is all that matters, a Three Time Loser also quickly loses his appeal to the GOPers even if the irredeemable MAGAts remain hopelessly lost. Again, the midterms have shown there simply aren’t enough of them to matter in politics even if the hammer-wielding nut jobs still wander the streets muttering expletives about Dems or the supposed “librul media”.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Merrick Garland's appointee as special counsel John L (Jack) Smith is still in The Hague, Netherlands.
Smith, a war crimes prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, injured his leg in a recent bicycle accident and is recovering from surgery. He was tapped Friday to assume control over Justice Department investigations into Trump’s role in efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election, as well the department’s investigation into possible mishandling of national defense secrets at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and private club, where more than 300 classified documents were recovered months after he left the White House.
Garland and Smith have both vowed that the appointment of a special counsel will not slow the work in either case, and Smith has already become involved, albeit from the Netherlands. For example, a court filing Monday said Smith has reviewed arguments in a months-long court fight between the Justice Department and Trump’s lawyers over papers seized in the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.
“I think he’s very talented, enthusiastic, fearless, and truly dedicated to the prosecutor’s mission,” said Alan Vinegrad, a former federal prosecutor in New York who worked with Smith in the early 2000s. “He will be enthusiastic and throw himself into it.” In contrast, Jeffrey Cortese, who served as the acting chief of the FBI’s public corruption unit in 2011 when Smith was his Justice Department counterpart supervising the Public Integrity Section, said he did not see Smith as quick-acting or effective in prosecuting public officials. “At that time, it was understood that the fastest way for a case to die was to give it to PIN,” Cortese said, using the common nickname for the Public Integrity Section. “The frequency with which they declined investigative techniques and prosecutions was often a point of conflict between the FBI and the Justice Department.”
Brandon Van Grack, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Mueller’s special counsel, said he suspects Smith will not require as much time as Mueller did to get his operation up and running. Unlike the Russia probe when the Mueller special counsel was announced, Van Grack said, both the Mar-a-Lago and Jan. 6 investigations appear to already have significant resources and personnel dedicated to them. Mueller assembled a team that included a number of people who did not work at the Justice Department; Van Grack said he doesn’t think Smith will need to hire as many outside people as the Mueller special counsel did. “Some of the most remarkable people in the Mueller investigation were the people who were able to make the office space and logistics happen in a seemingly seamless fashion,” Van Grack said. “It was an incredibly burdensome process, and it’s unclear if special counsel Smith will or will need to take it on.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... ack-smith/

Smith is a triathlete and the Netherlands is a country of bikes. One Dutch city Groningen bans cars in their city center, but bikes are fine.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015 ... -the-world
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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I bet Smith will have a great team of legal experts in no time and will have Trump on the run shortly thereafter. I'm certain that TOS and his band of legal idiots will continue to create legal fantasies to try and counter Smith's team. Going to be fun watching Smith's team slap them down in every court.

TOS needs to get his tailor to measure him for a set of presidential orange jumpsuits.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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The thing is, anyone without money who try the same strategies of lying, shaming others, and making up excuses to deflect personal responsibility for crimes would basically have the book thrown at them in short order. It is only TOS’s money and power of office that conferred a bit more time than other guilty folks. And that sucks for people who really care about fairness. But I truly feel that he will still suffer the same fate as all patently guilty people in the end. That is if society still cares to protect its laws and sense of basic decency.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Bisbee wrote: Sun Nov 27, 2022 4:59 pm The thing is, anyone without money who try the same strategies of lying, shaming others, and making up excuses to deflect personal responsibility for crimes would basically have the book thrown at them in short order. It is only TOS’s money and power of office that conferred a bit more time than other guilty folks. And that sucks for people who really care about fairness. But I truly feel that he will still suffer the same fate as all patently guilty people in the end. That is if society still cares to protect its laws and sense of basic decency.
Agree.

The breakdown in the social contract that occurs when someone like TOS escapes prosecution for this long is so corrosive, and so broad, you can't even track its impact. But yeah, I do believe he'll probably get busted eventually.
Last edited by SunRiseWest on Wed Jun 07, 2023 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Merrick Garland appoints a special counsel to oversee the Trump investigations

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Trump is now attacking the sister-in-law of the special counsel

Donald Trump is going all-in on attacks against the family of special counsel Jack Smith. Instead of mounting a defense for his actions, Trump deployed one of his top tactics: attacking anyone trying to hold him accountable.

One of Trump's right-wing allies posted a claim that Smith's sister-in-law, who is allegedly a psychologist and whose patients were "crying" and "sobbing" over Trump's 2016 election.

"And I’m supposed to get a fair shake from this person, who’s under tremendous pressure from his family, but he is actually worse than they are?" Trump rambled on his personal social media site. "Can Republicans, and fair-minded people, generally, allow this to happen? Jack Smith is nothing less than a hit man for Obama, his Attorney General Eric Holder, and Andrew Weissmann. Weaponization. Our Country is in big trouble, a real mess!"
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-prosecu ... l-counsel/

The worse thing TOS could do is use the mafia tactic of threats and attacks on someone’s family. Especially when the person is the special counsel investigating you.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

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