ORDER NO. 5559 - 2022 APPOfNTMENT OF JOHN L. SMITH AS SPECIAL COUNSEL By virtue of the authority vested in the Attorney General, including 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510,515, and 533, in order to discharge my responsibility to provide supervision and management of the Department of Justice, and to ensure a full and thorough investigation of certain matters, I hereby order as follows: (a) John L. Smith is appointed to serve as Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice. (b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the ongoing investigation into whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or the certification of the Electoral College vote held on or about January 6, 2021, as well as any matters that arose or might arise directly from this investigation or that are within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a). This authori zation does not apply to prosecutions that are currently pending in the District of Columbia, as well as future investigations and prosecutions of individuals for offenses they
