JUST IN: DOJ Appoints Special Counsel in Trump Criminal Probes

Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s attorney general, appointed a special counsel to determine whether or not former President Donald Trump should face criminal charges in dual investigations at the Justice Department, reported Reuters Friday.

The Department of Justice has named a “special prosecutor to investigate the entirety of the dept’s criminal investigation into the unlawful retention of national defense info at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, Reuters reported, citing a senior DOJ official.

CNN reported that the special counsel will also oversee parts of the Jan. 6 investigation “that touch on the former president.”

“One of the things the Justice Department has been looking into is the involvement of the former president and the people around him in the effort to obstruct the transfer of power after the 2020 election. He was involved in the fake elector scheme and in the entire effort to try to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory at the end of the 2020 election,” reported Evan Perez.

The Wall Street Journal first broke the story on Friday, just three days after Trump announced plans to run for president in 2024. The Justice Department has a longstanding tradition of not indicting political candidates during election cycles.

This is a developing story…