How to Use special counsel in a Sentence

special counsel

noun
  • Both charges were dropped, and special counsel Jack Smith resigned.
    — Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 30 May 2026
  • Mueller’s tenure as special counsel was the capstone of a career spent in government.
    — Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Mueller's tenure as special counsel was the capstone of a career spent in government.
    — Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
  • Judge Aileen Cannon had tossed the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
    — Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Garland appointed Smith as special counsel.
    — Jana Winter, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Among them are Mary Dohrmann and James Pearce, who both served on former special counsel Jack Smith's legal team.
    — Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Trump and his supporters allege that the special counsel was trying to influence the 2024 election.
    — Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Contrast Mueller’s approach with that of the next special counsel to investigate a president, Robert Hur.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Final reports from previous special counsels have been made public after their investigations were finished.
    — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The testimony comes as the committee probes Smith's actions during his time as special counsel in the Biden administration.
    — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
  • After months of litigation, Judge Cannon dismissed the case on the grounds that Smith was not properly appointed special counsel.
    — Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 20 May 2026
  • Just over a week later, the Department of Justice named Mueller, who was then retired, as special counsel to investigate a sitting president.
    — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Stephen Hauptman is a special counsel attorney at Ball Janik LLP in Fort Lauderdale.
    — Stephen Hauptman, Sun Sentinel, 28 June 2026
  • His Democratic Party then went further by pushing a special counsel that could cancel the charges against him outright -- a move Lee declined to endorse or oppose publicly.
    — Joohee Cho, ABC News, 4 June 2026
  • She was arrested last August by a special counsel, with prosecutors requesting 15 years in prison for the various crimes the court ruled on Wednesday.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Those cases were brought by a special counsel appointed to have greater-than-normal independence from Justice Department leadership.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 19 May 2026
  • The stories prompted the state attorney general to open an investigation into several guardianship providers and spurred the court system to appoint a special counsel to enact reforms.
    — Jake Pearson, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Former special counsel to the mayor Tim Moriarty, who now works at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.
    — IndyStar, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The stories also prompted the state attorney general to open an investigation into several guardianship providers and spurred the court system to appoint a special counsel to enact reforms.
    — ProPublica, 27 Feb. 2026
  • The resignation is effective April 7, but Dul will stay on the payroll in a new special counsel role for an unspecified amount of time to help establish new legal leadership.
    — Stacey Barchenger, AZCentral.com, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Allan Culver currently serves as my special counsel, has been a prosecutor here for 24 years and has handled every kind of case from traffic to murder with outstanding competence.
    — Haven Shoemaker, Baltimore Sun, 9 June 2026
  • Among those was Robert Mueller, the special counsel who led the probe, at WilmerHale, and Andrew Weissmann, who was hired by Jenner & Block.
    — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Mueller served as special counsel in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Bondi had already determined that the report's second volume shouldn't be released to the public, in part because of questions surrounding the legality of Smith's appointment as special counsel.
    — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Allan Culver is special counsel to the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office.
    — Allan Culver, Baltimore Sun, 12 June 2026
  • The document offers a snapshot of an early moment in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation and adds new shading to the public understanding of Smith’s probes.
    — Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Ballou, who is working with the press freedom groups, previously served as a Justice Department special counsel with expertise in private equity transactions.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2026
  • Garland also appointed special counsels to handle sensitive investigations into Biden and into his son, Hunter Biden.
    — Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 6 May 2026
  • Martha Stone, founder and special counsel of the Center for Children’s Advocacy, told the Courant that the foster care system is in crisis and that the reimbursement rates should be addressed.
    — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Federal regulations require special counsels to provide the attorney general with a report that explain prosecution or declination decisions once their work is concluded.
    — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'special counsel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: