By Steve Neavling
Special Counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court to reinstate the criminal case against Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents, following a lower court’s dismissal of the charges in July, according to a court filing.
In their brief, Smith and his legal team appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, asking them to reverse the July 15 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith’s appointment was unlawful and that he lacked the authority to prosecute the case, Reuters reports.
“Congress has bestowed on the Attorney General, like the heads of many Executive Departments, broad authority to structure the agency he leads to carry out the responsibilities imposed on him by law,” they wrote.
“The district court’s contrary view conflicts with an otherwise unbroken course of decisions, including by the Supreme Court, that the Attorney General has such authority, and it is at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government.”
Smith’s office is also requesting the appellate court to schedule oral arguments.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s 2022 appointment of Smith was unconstitutional. Cannon also determined that Smith’s budget, funded by an indefinite appropriation, was illegal.
Trump’s legal team had earlier questioned the legitimacy of Smith’s appointment, contending that his office was not established by Congress and that the special counsel had not been confirmed by the Senate.
On Monday, Trump’s campaign called on the court to deny Smith’s appeal and urged for the dismissal of other cases pending against the former president.
