Garland Appoints Special Prosecutor Following Filing of Demand

WASHINGTON - Nov. 18, 2022 - PRLog -- Attorney General [AG] Merrick Garland has just appointed Jack Smith as special prosecutor to oversee all of the federal criminal investigations and possible prosecutions related to former President Donald Trump.

The filing noted that the filing started a legal clock ticking; "This constitutes a "written application" or "other request" which requires, pursuant to 5 U.S. Code § 555, that the Justice Department "provide prompt notice," as well as a "brief statement of the grounds for denial," if it is denied and no such an appointment is made.

The appointment follows receipt by the AG of a formal legal demand for such an appointment filed on Tuesday night following Trump's announcement that he will be running for president in 2024, possibly against President Joe Biden.

This action created the very clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest the special prosecutor regulations were designed to deal with, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

Banzhaf's earlier filings helped obtain special prosecutors for then-president Richard Nixon, and an order by a judge for the appointment of a special prosecutors for Debategate.  More recently, his legal filing triggered the now-ongoing criminal investigation of Trump in Georgia.

The legal filing noted that failing to appoint a special prosecutor now would give Trump a "Get Out of Jail Free" card if we were ever convicted,  More specifically, the filing warned:

"A continuing refusal to follow the clear and unambiguous mandate of 28 CFR § 600.1 to appoint a special counsel would provide a very strong argument to quash any indictment and/or reverse any conviction of Trump which might be obtained with a prosecution conducted by the Department of Justice; a result which would further devastate an already divided and very suspicious country, even to the point of possibly causing violence if a judge were to rule that a conviction of Trump had been obtained illegally."

It also pointed out that "The appointment of a special counsel would help assure millions of Americans convinced that Trump is being treated unfairly - fears recently rekindled by a decision to raid Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence rather than rely upon a subpoena or further negotiations to retrieve documents - that vital prosecutorial decisions are not being made by a person who would almost certainly be fired if Trump's bid for the presidency isn't derailed by further investigations and/or prosecutions."

A COPY OF THE FORMAL DEMAND MAY BE OBTAINED BY EMAIL FROM JBANZHAF3@GMAIL.COM.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf