With the possibility that former President Donald Trump could announce his 2024 bid days after the midterms, the Department of Justice has started looking into appointing a special counsel to oversee several criminal probes into the former President.
According to reports by CNN, leaders in the DOJ are seriously considering appointing a special counsel to oversee its legal probes into Trump, but legal experts warn such an appointment will not benefit the Justice Department.
Jeff Robbins, a former federal prosecutor and a Senate investigative counsel, noted that appointing a special counsel to protect from attacks claiming the move to indict Trump is politically motivated is a “fool’s errand.”
Instead, Robbins claimed that strategy would “have minimal impact on the width and breadth of the criticism.”
Other legal experts say Attorney General Merrick Garland will have to come to terms with Trump supporters being upset, irrespective of who oversees an indictment.
Clinton-era Inspector General Michael Bromwich expressed doubts appointing independent counsel would “forestall criticism,” saying those who don’t like any prosecutor charging Trump will “find a way to dislike” the move.
Bromwich added that whether Garland kept the case or he appointed a special counsel to take on the decision-making role in the case, criticism would exist.
Bromwich explained he believes Garland’s “found out it’s a no-win situation for him.”
Despite the DOJ having a set of regulations governing when to appoint a special counsel, the Department gives the Attorney General broad discretion over when to make such an appointment.
