In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a storage room at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Here’s how the federal government has used special counsels in high-profile investigations over the years, and how Cannon’s ruling, which Smith said he is appealing, would affect ongoing and future cases.
A brief history of independent counsels
Ensuring impartiality in the U.S. Justice Department can be difficult, as the attorney general is appointed by – and answerable to – a partisan president. This gives presidents the power to try to influence the attorney general to pursue a political agenda.
President Richard Nixon did this during the investigation of the Watergate break-in, which threatened to implicate him in criminal acts and end his presidency.
On the evening of Oct. 20, 1973, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Archibald Cox, whom Richardson had appointed to lead the Watergate investigation. Richardson refused and resigned.
Here’s how the federal government has used special counsels in high-profile investigations over the years, and how Cannon’s ruling, which Smith said he is appealing, would affect ongoing and future cases.
A brief history of independent counsels
Ensuring impartiality in the U.S. Justice Department can be difficult, as the attorney general is appointed by – and answerable to – a partisan president. This gives presidents the power to try to influence the attorney general to pursue a political agenda.
A former Memphis police supervisor says there was “no need” for five officers to punch, kick, and hit Tyre Nichols with a baton on the night he was fatally beaten after a traffic stop
Adrian Wojnarowski’s decision to be one of the first significant insiders to leave on their own and try something new is surprising because some thought it might have happened sooner
Footage of two New York City police officers opening fire at a subway station as they confronted a man holding a knife shows they fired at him as he was standing still, his arms by his side and his back to a train