Attorney General Merrick Garland no doubt saw this moment coming a while ago, yet he waited until today to announce that he is appointing a special counsel to examine two key aspects of the criminality demonstrated by Donald J. Trump.
The special counsel is a young man named Jack Smith, a career prosecutor and someone known to be a no-nonsense battler for the truth.
What did the AG see happening? It was the prospect that Trump would declare his candidacy for president in 2024. He likely figured the twice-impeached, disgraced and utterly unfit Trump would make another go at the office of POTUS.
OK, I am going to endorse Merrick Garland's decision to step away formally from the probes into the 1/6 insurrection and the Mar-a-Lago document theft.
Look at it this way. Garland and the Department of Justice have done a lot of the spade work already. They have uncovered mountains of evidence that Trump incited the attack on the Capitol on 1/6 and -- more specifically -- that he has obstructed justice in the recovery of documents Trump took with him to his estate when he left the White House ... hopefully for the final time, ever!
I know what some of you might be thinking. We've been down this "special counsel road" already. Robert Mueller took the job to probe whether there was collusion between Trump and them Russians. He didn't indict anyone.
But wait. That was then. The here and now has revealed another set of evidence on another set of crimes. The new special counsel has before him a mountain of evidence through which he can pore.
Do I want any more delay in this search for accountability? Of course not! Nor do I necessarily believe there will be a delay. AG Garland has promised that the counsel will move expeditiously. Let's hope he hits the ground at a full gallop.
The bottom line, though, is that Merrick Garland envisioned a potential conflict of interest were he to remain in charge of these two probes. It remains a possibility -- although I consider it a remote one -- that Trump might end up running for president against the man who selected Garland to lead DOJ.
Accordingly, I believe Garland's decision was the correct one.
Now, it becomes imperative for the special counsel to get busy ... as in right now!
The DOJ built the car and just hired the driver.
Pedal to the metal!