A law professor is calling upon Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to handle the Justice Department’s investigation into Donald Trump following the FBI’s raid of the former president’s home at Mar-a-Lago.
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John Banzhaf, a professor emeritus of law at George Washington University, said that a special counsel is imperative to avoid “blatant” conflicts of interest following the “unprecedented” Trump search, while he also said “equally blatant” conflicts mean that Garland should appoint a special counsel to handle the investigation into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter.
The Monday raid by the bureau was reportedly related to boxes of materials Trump brought with him to his resort in Florida after leaving office. The National Archives said some presidential records in 15 boxes obtained from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year included materials marked as classified national security information. The agency also noted the Justice Department had been notified.
TRUMP SAYS FBI RAIDED MAR-A-LAGO
“The unprecedented raid on the home of the former president — and the use of a search warrant rather than a subpoena — demonstrates even more strongly than before the need for the appointment of a special counsel to conduct federal investigations and possible prosecutions of Donald Trump to avoid clear and blatant conflicts of interest,” Banzhaf said, adding, “There is a clear conflict of interest for Attorney General Merrick Garland — who serves at the pleasure of the President and is subject to removal if he fails or refuses to follow Biden’s orders — to investigate and possibly seek to prosecute the person most likely to run against Biden in the next presidential election.”
If this happens, it would not be the first special counsel to investigate Trump. Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation “did not establish” any criminal collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump said Monday night the FBI had “raided” his home in Mar-a-Lago, claiming agents even “broke into [his] safe.”
“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before. After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate.”
Trump is facing multiple investigations, including a sprawling Capitol riot inquiry in which the Justice Department is reportedly beefing up its team investigating Jan. 6. Garland has called the Capitol riot investigation “the most wide-ranging investigation and the most important investigation” the Justice Department has ever conducted. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
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Then-Chief Judge Garland was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in March 2016 following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, but Senate Republicans declined to consider the nomination. After Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November 2016, he nominated Judge (now Justice) Neil Gorsuch in January 2017.
Banzhaf has touted his role in investigations related to President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. Banzhaf has also filed a complaint with the State Election Board of Georgia over then-President Trump’s phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, about the 2020 election.
