Donald Trump predictably isn’t exactly thrilled about the choice by Attorney General Merrick Garland to select a special counsel for leading two investigations that deal with the former president’s personal behavior.
The probes under the purview of the newly selected special counsel include the Justice Department’s investigation into the handling of classified documents from the Trump era, which led to the August raid by the FBI on the former president’s southern Florida property known as Mar-a-Lago. Jack Smith, the former Justice Department official who will be serving as special counsel, will also be leading the department’s probe into key aspects of the post-2020 election attempt to corruptly keep Donald in power despite his loss. That seemingly includes the department’s examination of the multi-state scheme to assemble faked electoral votes for Trump in states that Biden won. It doesn’t include the prosecution of individual participants in last year’s assault on the Capitol that was inspired by Trump’s election lies.
Smith will have the power to both bring charges and refer matters for prosecution by another official in the department. He will operate largely independently, without reporting on a daily basis to anybody else in the department — which means political appointees elsewhere in government service won’t even have the opportunity for interference that could be described as politically oriented.
“I have been going through this for six years — for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore,” Trump told Fox on Friday, discussing Smith’s selection as special counsel. “And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this… I have been proven innocent for six years on everything — from fake impeachments to Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more?.. It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political.” Donald’s victim complex really knows few if any bounds. (Also, he wasn’t “proven innocent… on everything.”) “I am not going to partake in it,” Donald added. “I’m not going to partake in this.” Does he think that’s somehow how it works? If under investigation, you can’t just say you won’t “partake” in the probe and make it go away.
“I have never heard of such a thing. They found nothing. I announce and then they appoint a special prosecutor,” he added. “They found nothing, and now they take some guy who hates Trump. This is a disgrace and only happening because I am leading in every poll in both parties.” It is not correct that they “found nothing,” and the selection of a special counsel does little to expand the actual substance of any of the investigations Trump is facing. It does, however, protect their independence and longevity — and for at least independence’s sake, wouldn’t Donald want that? Obviously, there was never any reasonable expectation of a careful look at the facts from Trump.
