Former US President Donald Trump defended today that the appointment of a special prosecutor, to lead investigations into himself, is “political,” while the current head of state, Joe Biden, revealed that he was not involved in the decision.
Speaking to Fox, the Republican business tycoon, who announced three days ago his candidacy for the White House, in the 2024 presidential election, considered this nomination “unfair” and “political.”
For Trump, this is the “worst politicization of justice” in American history, adding that he will not participate in the investigations.
“It’s a shame, they’re doing this just because I’m leading in the polls,” the former president added, also encouraging Republicans to “stand up and fight.”
On the other hand, the spokeswoman for Casa Banca, Karen Jean-Pierre, indicated that the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, was not notified in advance of the appointment of a special prosecutor to lead the investigations affecting the former president. ..
“The Department of Justice makes decisions about its criminal investigations independently. We did not get advance notice.”He confirmed, in remarks to reporters, that the North American president was not “involved” in the decision.
The US Attorney General appointed a special counsel on Friday to oversee investigations into former US President Donald Trump, three days after announcing his presidential candidacy.
“Given recent events, including the announcement of the former president’s candidacy in the upcoming presidential election and the incumbent president’s intent to run, I have determined that it is in the public interest to appoint a private attorney,” Merrick Garland told a news conference. .
Garland entrusted this task to Jack Smith, former Hague Prosecutor at the Special Tribunal for Kosovo.
The Department of Justice described Smith as a “registered independent” in an effort to defuse any political influence attacks.
Jack Smith, for his part, confirmed that he intends to conduct the investigations “independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.”
“I will exercise independent judgment and pursue investigations with speed and rigor, whatever the outcome dictated by the facts and the law,” Smith said in a statement released by the Department of Justice.
The investigations focus on the presence of classified documents at the Republican businessman’s Florida residence, but this special prosecutor will also oversee key aspects of a separate investigation into the January 6, 2021 Capitol invasion and Trump’s efforts to overturn it. presidential results 2020, reported the Associated Press (AP).
The action, released just three days after Trump officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, is an acknowledgment of the political implications of two investigations involving not only a former president, but also a current White House candidate.
While this appointment puts a new supervisor at the helm of the investigation, the Special Counsel will report to Garland, who has the final say on whether or not to press charges.
Garland has repeatedly defended her unique focus on facts, evidence, and the law in Justice Department decisions, as well as her determination to restore the agency’s political independence after the turbulent years of the Trump administration.
Nor does there appear to be an apparent conflict, unlike what prompted the recent appointment of a special attorney general to deal with investigations into Trump.
Trump’s Justice Department has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
On the process, Donald Trump stressed this Friday that Robert Mueller “didn’t find any conspiracy,” adding that his “innocence has been proven” in the past six years.
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