Garland Names Jack Smith as Special Counsel in Trump Investigation

Attorney General Merrick Garland has named the Justice Department's former public integrity chief Jack Smith to oversee the Justice Department's criminal investigations involving former President Donald Trump. The decision comes three days after Trump announced that he will run again for the White House.

Smith will oversee investigations of the retention of national defense information at Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate, as well as key aspects of the department's Jan. 6 investigation, according to a senior Justice Department official.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigations into Donald Trump just days after the former president announced his intent to seek the office again in 2024.

Garland said Jack Smith, a longtime prosecutor and current war crimes investigator, would take the helm of two investigations, one into the mishandling of sensitive government records at Mar-a-Lago, as well as aspects of its investigation into Jan. 6., 2021 covering “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday named a special counsel to investigate the entirety of the criminal probe into the unlawful retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Fox News has learned.