Special Counsel Smith Asks Appeals Court To Revive Trump Documents Case

Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times,

Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to reverse Judge Aileen Cannon’s order dismissing the Justice Department’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.

“The Attorney General validly appointed the Special Counsel, who is also properly funded,” the special counsel said in a brief to the appellate court on Aug. 26.

“In ruling otherwise, the district court deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorized the Special Counsel’s appointment, and took inadequate account of the longstanding history of Attorney General appointments of special counsels.”

Cannon ruled in July that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the U.S. Constitution, specifically the appointments and appropriations clauses.

In a 93-page ruling, Cannon wrote that Smith’s prosecution of the former president “breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme—the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law.”

The ruling raised questions about the Justice Department’s use of special counsels.

The judge ruled that Smith was an inferior officer, which requires Congress to authorize the attorney general to appoint him as special counsel, which didn’t happen.