Attorney General Merrick Garland has responded to Trump’s 2024 campaign announcement by appointing a special counsel to investigate the former president.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
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.
A formal announcement, which is expected by Friday afternoon, would come three days after Mr. Trump announced another bid for the presidency and would mark the naming of the third independent prosecutor in five years to examine issues involving Mr. Trump. The exact scope of the special counsel’s remit and who it would be couldn’t be determined.
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If Trump thought that the Justice Department was going to back off or be deterred by his campaign announcement he was wrong. Trump has in the past floated the incorrect belief that presidential candidates can’t be indicted, which may help to explain why he rushed the announcement that he is running for president in 2024.
The special counsel appointment is a preemptive measure to get out in front of Trump and his allies who are going to claim that the investigation of his illegal possession of classified documents is politically motivated.
Trump is not going to stop the Justice Department by standing in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom and declaring that he is a candidate for president.
Trump played his 2024 card, but AG Garland seems to be three moves ahead.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
