

Though they’re not subject to the day-to-day supervision of the Justice Department, special counsels must still comply with department regulations, policies and procedures.

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Trump is now facing charges in both cases.Ī look at the origins of the special counsel, the position’s powers and what to expect as Weiss pursues his work:Ī special counsel is an attorney appointed to investigate, and possibly prosecute, a case in which the Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict or where it’s deemed to be in the public interest to have someone outside the government come in and take responsibility for a matter.Īccording to the Code of Federal Regulations, a special counsel must have “a reputation for integrity and impartial decisionmaking,” as well as “an informed understanding of the criminal law and Department of Justice policies.” 6, 2021, insurrection and efforts to undo the 2020 election. attorney in Maryland, to oversee the department’s investigation into how several batches of documents marked as classified ended up at Joe Biden’s Delaware home and at the offices of the president’s Washington think tank.Īnd last year, Garland appointed former Justice Department public corruption prosecutor Jack Smith to lead investigations into the retention of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. In January, Garland appointed Robert Hur, a former U.S. He said Weiss asked to be appointed to the position and told him that “in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work," now as special counsel.

attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s son, to oversee the department’s investigation. On Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped David Weiss, the U.S. The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s probe of Hunter Biden is bringing renewed attention on the role such prosecutors have played in modern American history.
