Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court on Monday to overturn a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss charges against former President Donald Trump for withholding classified documents after he left the White House.
Even if the appeals court ruled in favor of the prosecutor, a possible trial of the Republican presidential candidate would in all likelihood not be able to take place before the November 5 election.
In his written arguments, Smith accuses Florida Judge Aileen Cannon of making a complete mistake in ruling on July 15 that his appointment as special prosecutor in the case and the funding for his work violated the Constitution’s sections on appointments and expenses.
In doing so, it “departed from authoritative Supreme Court jurisprudence, misinterpreted the laws authorizing the appointment of the special prosecutor, and failed to adequately consider the long tradition of appointments of special prosecutors by justice ministers,” he lists.
“His reasoning could compromise the established functioning of the Justice Department and call into question hundreds of appointments within the executive branch,” including in Defense, Diplomacy and the Treasury, adds Jack Smith.
The defense now has thirty days to respond, then the special prosecutor will have three weeks to formulate a counter-argument.
In the case, one of four criminal proceedings against Donald Trump, he was accused of compromising national security by keeping documents, including military plans and information on nuclear weapons, in his private residence after the end of his presidency, instead of handing them over to the National Archives as required by law.
He was also charged with attempting to destroy evidence. The most serious charges carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Without ruling on the merits of the case, Judge Cannon relied in particular on the position expressed by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the unprecedented decision of the country’s highest court on 1er July, recognizing the President of the United States with broad criminal immunity.
Justice Thomas had, in a separate concurring opinion, challenged the legality of Mr. Smith’s appointment in another case, the federal prosecution of Donald Trump for attempting to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election.