The US Department of Justice appoints an independent prosecutor to investigate Donald Trump

The United States Department of Justice has appointed this Friday an independent prosecutor in charge of overseeing criminal investigations into the withholding of national defense information by former President Donald Trump, as well as the assault on the Capitol.

The United States Attorney General, Merrick Garland, has appointed Jack Smith as the person in charge of leading these investigations. Former chief prosecutor of the Special Court in The Hague, Smith was in charge of evaluating war crimes committed during the war in Kosovo -- from February 1998 to June 1999 --, according to CNN.

"Based on recent events, including the former president's announcement that he will be running for president in the upcoming election and the incumbent president's stated intent to run as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a prosecutor," Garland said.

Smith must now investigate the possible criminal implications that Trump could face after an FBI operative discovered in his luxurious mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, a significant amount of classified documents related to the defense of the United States. Joined.

Likewise, the independent prosecutor will also analyze the role of the ex-president on the ignominious afternoon of January 6, 2021, when a mob of ultranationalist hotheads stormed the Capitol in Washington, to try to stop the transfer of power to the newly elected president, Joe Biden. , considering that the elections were rigged.

According to witnesses consulted by the aforementioned US television network, Smith's main objective at the head of both investigations is to gather more information and bring witness statements before a federal grand jury in the coming weeks.

Smith has stressed that his main task will be to carry out these investigations "independently and based on the best traditions of the Department of Justice." "I will exercise an independent judgment and I will advance the investigations in an expeditious and thorough manner until any result dictated by the facts and the law," he has settled her.

However, the announcement has not been well received by former President Trump, who, in statements to the conservative Fox network, has assured that he "will not participate" in the investigations led by Smith, since he is not willing to collaborate with the "worst politicization of Justice" American.

The former president has defended that his innocence has already been proven repeatedly in recent years, as he has passed up to two 'impeachments' (political trial) and former special prosecutor Robert Mueller failed to prove Trump's alleged collusion.

Finally, Trump has been convinced that this announcement by the Department of Justice comes just now, a few days after the former president announced his candidacy for the 2024 elections, because he is the one who leads "all the polls" among voters of " both parties."

"Hunter Biden is a criminal many times and nothing happens to him. Joe Biden is a criminal many times, and nothing happens to him (...) It is unfair to the country and to the Republican Party (...) The party has to stand up and fight", has settled.