I will exercise independent judgment and will move the investigations forward expeditiously and thoroughly to whatever outcome the facts and the law dictate,” Smith said. “The pace of the investigations will not pause or flag under my watch. In a statement following his announcement, Smith pledged to conduct the investigations “independently and in the best traditions of the Department of Justice.” “Particularly in these circumstances it will be critical to understand what types of evidence is required to prove the case in court.” He has the type of experience to make those judgments,” said Andres. “He will evaluate the evidence and understand what type of case should be charged or not. He will not be influenced by anybody,” said Greg Andres, a former member of Mueller’s team.Īndres, who has known Smith since the late 1990s when they started at a US attorney’s office together and ultimately became co-chiefs of the office’s criminal division, said it’s the breadth of Smith’s experience that will enable him to withstand the public scrutiny and make tough judgment calls. Garland’s statements on Friday and the recent steps taken in the Mar-a-Lago and January 6 investigations have signaled that, at the very least, Donald Trump is under investigation and could potentially be charged with a crime. Smith is widely expected to be tasked with making policy decisions around whether to charge a former president of the United States. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesĭOJ announces special counsel for Trump-related Mar-a-Lago and January 6 criminal investigations President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on Augin Dallas, Texas.

It also shows he is adept at managing complex criminal cases related to both public corruption and national security – and that he has practice making challenging decisions with political implications.įormer U.S. His experience and resume will allow him, at least at first, to fly underneath the type of political blowback that quickly met former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.

His career in multiple parts of the Justice Department, as well as in international courts, has allowed him to keep a relatively low-profile in the oftentimes brassy legal industry. In recent years, Smith has prosecuted war crimes at The Hague. Smith’s experience ranges from prosecuting a sitting US senator to bringing cases against gang members who were ultimately convicted of murdering New York City police officers. Jack Smith, the special counsel announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection, is a long-time prosecutor who has overseen a variety of high-profile cases during a career that spans decades.

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