What is a special counsel? A refresher on what it means

Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to announce that he has appointed a special counsel to oversee investigations into former President Donald Trump.

You likely remember hearing this term during the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Here’s a refresher on what it means:

A special counsel is a lawyer appointed to lead an independent investigation and, if necessary, to prosecute anyone suspected of crimes.

A special counsel is typically appointed when the usual investigative bodies under the Justice Department, such as the FBI, have a conflict of interest in carrying out a probe.

The law states more broadly that the attorney general can appoint a special counsel under “extraordinary circumstances,” or when in it is in the public interest to do so.

The special counsel must come from outside the government, the idea being that he or she should have the greatest possible level of impartiality and be removed from the usual chain of command.

The law says that the counsel should be a lawyer with a reputation for integrity and impartial decision-making.

According to multiple sources, both the Mar-a-Lago investigation and the Jan. 6 probe around former President Donald Trump are aiming to gather more information and bring witnesses before a grand jury in the coming weeks.

Prosecutors sent out several new subpoenas related to both investigations in recent days, with quick return dates as early as next week.

Some of the witnesses being pursued in this round had not spoken to the investigators in these cases before, according to some of the sources.

Former President Donald Trump’s team had been discussing in recent days the likelihood that the Justice Department would appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation into his handling of documents upon leaving office, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. 

Trump’s lawyers had been dreading the prospect, concerned it could drag out the investigation they have fought continuously in court. And Trump himself has complained about the matter, likening the prospect to former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who oversaw the Russia investigation. 

Former President Donald Trump has a slew of lawsuits against him.

Here are the two ongoing Justice Department investigations looking into aspects of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.

2020 Election: Fake GOP electors

The Justice Department is looking at an aspect of a plot to put forward fake GOP electors from seven states.

Fake certificates were created by Trump allies in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico as they sought to replace valid presidential electors from their states with a pro-Trump slate.

2020 election and Jan. 6

The Justice Department has an investigation of its own into the post-2020 election period.

While the DOJ has not acted publicly during the so-called quiet period leading up to the midterms, a grand jury in Washington has been hearing from witnesses.

Recently, the DOJ moved to compel additional testimony from former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and deputy White House counsel Patrick Philbin.

Trump has been fighting to keep former advisers from testifying about certain conversations, citing executive and attorney-client privileges to keep information confidential or slow down criminal investigators.

The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the White House were illegally mishandled when they were brought to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after he left office. A federal grand jury in Washington has been empaneled and has interviewed potential witnesses to how Trump handled the documents.

In August, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought there.

The National Archives, charged with collecting and sorting presidential material, had previously said that at least 15 boxes of White House records were recovered from Mar-a-Lago, including some classified records.

Any unauthorized retention or destruction of White House documents could violate a criminal law that prohibits the removal or destruction of official government records, legal experts told CNN.

Among the items seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago were clemency requests, health care documents, IRS forms and paperwork that appears to be related to the 2020 election, according to a Justice Department list that was made public.

The collection also included apparent communications about Trump’s business connections, including what’s described as a confidential settlement agreement between PGA and Trump Golf, as well as an email accepting Trump’s resignation from SAG, or the Screen Actors Guild.

Full details of the documents aren’t available but taken together, the list offers a glimpse into a handful of the thousands of documents Trump was keeping at his Florida residence and resort after his presidency, and which the FBI removed from the beach club.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to announce Friday that he has appointed a special counsel to oversee investigations into the retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and key aspects of the criminal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, according to a senior Justice Department official.

Both investigations implicate the conduct of Trump, who on Tuesday declared his candidacy in the 2024 presidential race, making him a potential rival of President Biden.

Justice Department officials have been debating for weeks whether to appoint a special counsel, CNN previously reported.

Trump has sought to paint the investigations as politically motivated, including at his Tuesday presidential announcement, where he said he was the victim of a “weaponization” of the justice system.