“So what is the significance of the fact that the special counsel law has expired.Does that mean anything?”
it changes who and how they are appointed ... it’s complicated too ... here’s lots of words that try to explain the complications if you’re interested
https://www.city-journal.org/article/no-more-special-counsels
and, btw, the prosecutor who prosecuted hunter for the check-box gun “crime” was indeed designated “special” by Garland:
Very good article at your first link. It did not clear up everything as I don’t have a legal background. But it pointed out a lot of things. And I always thought that the Independent Counsel and special prosecutor stuff under the justice department was a scam. Purely political and not independent either. They are nothing more than a setup. And if the AG is corrupt or a weasel like Bob Barr then nothing good can come from anything connected to them.