Trump and his two co-defendants, who are also accused of obstruction of justice by Trump employees, have pleaded not guilty.
Washington:
Special counsel Jack Smith is arguing to revive his office's case against former President Donald Trump over secret documents, the first formal filing since the criminal case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon last month.
In a brief filed Monday in the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Smith argued that Cannon's decision to dismiss the case against Trump on the grounds that the prosecution lacked constitutional authority was “novel” and “not[ed] merit.”
Cannon had determined that the Justice Department did not have the ability to appoint or fund special prosecutors like Smith.
Smith's team also argued that Cannon's decision would not only impact other prosecutions by special counsel — several of which are pending in other courts, including against Trump and Hunter Biden — but also the power of leaders within the federal government, CNN reported.
“If the Attorney General does not have the authority to appoint lower-level officials, that conclusion would invalidate the appointment of any member of the Department who exercises significant authority and holds a continuing office, except for the few specifically mentioned by law,” Smith's office wrote in the 81-page filing.
“The court's reasoning would also raise questions about hundreds of appointments within the executive branch, including at the ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Labor,” the prosecutors added.
Trump was indicted last summer on multiple counts of mishandling sensitive government documents that were taken from the White House toward the end of his presidency. The Republican presidential nominee also faces multiple obstruction charges for allegedly trying to impede the federal investigation into the materials.
The former president and his two co-defendants — Trump associates who are also accused of obstruction of justice — have pleaded not guilty.
The 11th Circuit is currently reviewing Cannon's findings that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional and that his office was improperly funded, as reported by CNN.
Notably, other courts have authorized the use of special prosecutors, but Cannon said Congress did not give the Justice Department the authority to make such an appointment. He also concluded that funding for Smith's office was not appropriately spent by lawmakers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
