Trump and his two co-defendants – also Trump employees charged with obstruction – have pleaded not guilty.
Washington:
Special counsel Jack Smith is calling for his office’s case against former President Donald Trump to be revived in the first formal filing since the criminal case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon last month.
In a brief filed Monday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Smith argued that Cannon’s decision to end the Trump case because the prosecutor’s office lacked constitutional authority was “novel” and “flawed.”[ed] merit.”
Cannon had ruled that the Justice Department did not have the ability to appoint or fund special counsels like Smith.
Smith’s team also cited Cannon’s decision as not only impacting other special counsel prosecutions — several of which are underway in other courts, including against Trump and Hunter Biden — but also potentially impacting the power of leaders in the federal government. as reported by CNN.
“If the Attorney General does not have the power to appoint inferior officers, that conclusion would invalidate the appointment of every member of the Department who exercises significant authority and holds continuing office, except the few specifically authorized by law identified,” Smith’s office wrote. in the 81-page file.
“The court’s reasoning would also raise questions about hundreds of appointments across the executive branch, including in the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury and Labor,” the plaintiffs added.
Trump was accused last summer of several counts of mishandling sensitive government documents taken from his White House at the end of his presidency. The Republican presidential candidate also faces several obstruction charges for allegedly attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into the materials.
The former president and his two co-defendants – Trump associates also charged with obstruction – have pleaded not guilty.
The 11th Circuit is reviewing Cannon’s findings that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional and that his office was illegally funded, as reported by CNN.
While other courts have upheld the use of special counsel, Cannon specifically said that Congress had not given the Justice Department the authority to make such an appointment, while also concluding that funding for Smith’s office was not up to par. had been properly appropriated by the legislators.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
