Special Counsel Jack Smith appointed to Donald Trump probe
Fox News correspondent David Spunt with the latest on DOJ's appointing of special counsel Jack Smith to investigate former president Donald Trump on 'Special Report with Bret Baier.'
"Real Time" host Bill Maher had some fun at the expense of Attorney General Merrick Garland for passing the buck on the DOJ probes looking into potentially criminal wrongdoing of former President Trump.
Garland announced on Friday that he appointed former Department of Justice official Jack Smith to serve as special counsel to oversee the probes investigating Trump's actions following the 2020 presidential election leading up to the events of Jan. 6 as well as his handling of classified materials that were seized by federal agents at Mar-a-Lago.
The attorney general cited recent developments in the investigations as well as the former president's formal entry in the 2024 presidential race as reasons for the appointment.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers remarks at the U.S. Department of Justice Building on November 18, 2022, in Washington, DC. Garland announced he will appoint a special counsel to oversee the Department of Justice’s investigation into former President Donald Trump and his handling of classified documents and actions before the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. Garland's pick to oversee the special counsel is Jack Smith, an international criminal court prosecutor. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Kicking off the panel discussion on his final show of the year, Maher addressed the "breaking news."
"I guess he did this on a Friday because maybe he was afraid? I don't know," Maher began. "He spent two years thinking about whether he should appoint a special counsel or what he should do about Donald Trump being a criminal."
"And now he has made up his mind. He's going to give it to somebody else to do," Maher chuckled before noting the two probes, one being "that little thing" Trump did by trying to overturn the 2020 election and putting classified documents "in the shed next to the croquet equipment."
"Real Time" host Bill Maher. (HBO) (HBO)
After highlighting Special Counsel Smith's resume, Maher stressed "it doesn't matter who, it doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter when, the right is just gonna say it's political."
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CNN anchor Laura Coates agreed with the special counsel appointment, noting the major distrust of institutions and "if you can do one thing to undercut the argument that this is all politics, why not try?"
"You gotta," Maher agreed. "He can't let a guy get away with it! That's a bigger precedent! I know there's some bad sides of doing it."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 6, 2022, in Dallas, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Maher later complained about how the DOJ didn't take action to press charges against former President Trump "right after Jan. 6" rather than waiting nearly two years.
"I've kept saying on this show like ‘What the f--- is going on?’ If only we had some sort of department of justice who could do something, some sort of justice department," Maher quipped.
Trump blasted the special counsel appointment telling Fox News he "won’t partake in it" and calling it "the worst politicization of justice in our country," while urging the Republican Party to take action.
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"I have been going through this for six years — for six years I have been going through this, and I am not going to go through it anymore," Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Friday shortly after the announcement. "And I hope the Republicans have the courage to fight this."
"I have been proven innocent for six years on everything — from fake impeachments to [former special counsel Robert] Mueller who found no collusion, and now I have to do it more?" Trump said. "It is not acceptable. It is so unfair. It is so political."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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