2023-06-14 23:06:30
US Attorney General Merrick Garland defended special counsel Jack Smith on June 14 after former President Donald Trump was charged with concealing documents and other crimes.
Garland described Smith as a “veteran career prosecutor” who “has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law.”
Garland, a Biden appointee who appointed Smith to investigate Trump, also said he has followed federal regulations regarding the investigation.
The regulations require the special counsel to notify the attorney general of “significant events” in the course of an investigation. They also provide that the attorney general may ask special counsel for an explanation of any step the special counsel takes and may decide that an action is “so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Department practice that it should not proceed.”
Garland made these statements after holding an unrelated act in Washington and after Trump accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of interfering in the elections and instrumentalizing the judicial system.
Trump said Tuesday in New Jersey, after pleading not guilty, that President Joe Biden “had his top political opponent arrested on trumped-up and trumped-up charges” and dubbed the DOJ the “Department of Injustice.”
Biden said he has never suggested to the Justice Department whether or not to file a charge.
Trump also criticized Smith for his prosecution of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. Smith won a conviction against McDonnell on bribery charges, but the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned the conviction, and Justice John Roberts disagreed with the government’s “unlimited interpretation of the federal bribery statute.”
McDonnell, a Republican, told Newsmax on Wednesday that Smith “would rather win than do well.”
“I think he’s too enthusiastic and too aggressive and he’s going to stretch the law to get a win,” McDonnell added.
Smith, who was a senior Justice Department official until 2015, also considered investigating IRS-run nonprofit organizations but ultimately chose not to prosecute them, he testified (pdf) in 2014. The emails showed that Smith thought officials could target nonprofits, that the IRS he pointed mistakenly, of conspiracy to violate campaign finance law.
Smith’s wife is a film director who produced a documentary about former first lady Michelle Obama and who has made donations to Biden, who defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Garland appointed Smith in late 2022 to investigate Trump’s handling of records, including documents with classification marks, and whether any person or group illegally interfered with the 2020 election transfer of power or certification of electoral votes that took place at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Smith said when he was appointed that he intended to conduct the investigations “independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.”
In prepared remarks after Trump’s indictment was unsealed, Smith sought to combat allegations of unfair application of the law.
“We have a set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. apply those laws. Collecting facts. That is what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing else. Nothing less,” he said.
Trump drew attention to the fact that the Department has refused to prosecute several top officials, including his longtime rival Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that the officials were also found to be in possession of records marked as classified. He has also defended the withholding of materials, arguing that he declassified them before leaving office.
According to the indictment, Trump illegally withheld national defense records and violated the law when he showed them to others, including an unidentified writer and publicist. Trump also made false statements to investigators and worked with an aide, Waltine Nauta, to hide some of the documents from the FBI, according to authorities.
Smith has not responded to questions since he was appointed. Garland responded to several questions Wednesday but declined to say when he learned of the decision to charge Trump. He also said that he could not discuss the details of any ongoing criminal case before praising Smith and Smith’s team.
“Any questions on this matter will have to be answered by their statements before the court,” he said.
Garland was also asked about so-called extremism experts for the riots in Miami, Florida, where Trump was indicted.
“We live in a democracy. These types of matters are adjudicated through the court system,” Garland said. “The Department of Justice will be vigilant to ensure that there are no threats of violence or actual violence.”
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