Jack Smith, a career prosecutor with experience at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, will look into the allegations against the ex-president.
A former war crimes prosecutor has been appointed as special counsel to oversee investigations into former US president Donald Trump.
Jack Smith, a career prosecutor, will look into allegations around the mishandling of classified documents at Trump’s Florida home and his role leading up to the January 6th assault on the Capitol.
The appointment was announced by the US attorney-general Merrick Garland, who said it was in the « public interest » following Mr Trump’s announcement that he plans to run again for the presidency.
Mr Garland, whose Justice Department has been conducting investigations for months, was appointed as head of the department by President Joe Biden.
The appointment of a special counsel is designed to address suspicions, articulated out loud and regularly by Mr Trump, of political bias in the investigations.
During a news conference to announce the move, the attorney-general said: « It is in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to independently manage an investigation and prosecution based on recent developments including the former president’s announcement that he is candidate for president in the next election, and the sitting president’s stated intention to be a candidate as well.
