Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel on Friday to lead the Justice Department’s investigation into the existence of classified documents at former President Donald Trump‘s Florida estate as well as significant portions of a separate investigation into January 6, 2021, uprising and attempts to void the results of the 2020 election.

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The action—announced only three days after Trump formally announced his 2024 bid—recognizes the undeniable political ramifications of two investigations involving both a potential 2020 presidential candidate and a former president.

The special counsel will still report to Garland, who has the final word on whether to file charges, even if the appointment places a new leader in charge of the investigations, both of which are anticipated to pick up speed now that the midterm elections are over.

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Jack Smith, a veteran prosecutor who oversaw the Justice Department’s public integrity division in Washington before acting as the chief federal prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee, under the Obama administration, will take up the position. He has most recently served as the head prosecutor at the Hague special court that is charged with looking into global war crimes.

The Justice Department described Smith as a registered independent, an effort to blunt any attack of perceived political bias.

Representatives for Trump, a Republican, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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There was no immediate reason provided for the decision or for its timing. Garland has spoken repeatedly of his singular focus on the facts, the evidence, and the law in the Justice Department’s decision-making and of his determination to restore political independence to the agency following the tumultuous years of the Trump administration.

Furthermore, there does not appear to be an obvious conflict like the one that led to the previous appointment of a special counsel to lead investigations into Trump-related matters. Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed by the Trump Justice Department as special counsel to oversee the investigation into any possible cooperation between Russia and the Trump 2016 campaign.