Could Merrick Garland Save the Case Against Trump by Asking Jack Smith To Step Aside — and Taking the Reins Himself?

The attorney general could decide that swapping out the special counsel is the surest path to a conviction.

AP/Susan Walsh, file
Attorney General Garland at the justice department, August 11, 2022. AP/Susan Walsh, file

Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutionally appointed by Attorney General Garland surfaces the possibility that the chief law enforcement officer could rectify his mistake by taking the reins of the Mar-a-Lago case — and move Judge Cannon off of it in the process.

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