President Joe Biden did not know prior to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement that Garland was appointing a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump, the White House said hours after the announcement.
“No, he was not aware. We were not aware,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a press briefing in Washington.
Jean-Pierre said the Department of Justice (DOJ), which Garland heads, “makes decisions about its criminal investigation independently.”
Garland tapped Jack Smith, a prosecutor who was working at The Hague, as a special counsel to take over the investigation into Trump’s handling of documents and portions of a separate probe into whether any person or entity interfered with the transition of power from Trump to Biden, including the electoral certification that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021….