U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will appoint a special counsel to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against former President Donald Trump, CNBC reports.
New York Times: “The appointment of a special counsel was a way for the Justice Department to insulate its investigations against Mr. Trump from political considerations. While special counsels can be fired from their positions, the process is much more arduous than removing ordinary prosecutors from a case.”
“Special counsels are semi-independent prosecutors who by Justice Department regulations can be appointed for high-level investigations when there can be a conflict of interest, or the appearance of it. They exercise greater day-to-day autonomy than regular United States attorneys, but are ultimately still subject to the control of the attorney general.”
As Trump likely anticipated, this will almost certainly slow down the investigation.
