[Politics] Justice Department tries to revive classified documents case against Trump, defends special counsel's role

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Special counsel Jack Smith is arguing to revive his office's classified documents case against Donald Trump with a vigorous defense of his authority in the first formal filing since Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case last month.

In a brief filed Monday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Smith argues that Cannon's decision to end the Trump case because the prosecution lacked constitutional authority was "novel" and "without merit."

Cannon had ruled that the Justice Department had no standing to appoint or fund special prosecutors like Smith.

Special counsel defends investigators' handling of Mar-a-Lago documents kept in 'haphazard fashion' by Trump
Smith's team also considered that Cannon's decision not only affected other special counsel prosecutions — of which there are several underway in other courts, against Trump and Hunter Biden, among others — but could also affect the power of those in charge of the entire federal government.

"If the Attorney General lacks the power to appoint lower-level officials, that conclusion would invalidate the appointment of every member of the Department who exercises significant authority and holds a continuing position, other than the few who are specifically identified by statute," Smith's office wrote in the 81-page filing.

"The district court's reasoning would also raise questions about hundreds of appointments across the Executive Branch, including the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, and Labor," prosecutors added.

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Trump was charged last summer with multiple counts of mishandling confidential government documents removed from his White House at the end of the presidency, and the 2024 GOP nominee also faces several obstruction charges for alleged efforts to stymie the federal investigation into the materials. The former president and his two co-defendants — Trump staffers also charged with obstruction — have pleaded not guilty.

The 11th Circuit is reviewing Cannon’s determinations that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional and that his office was being illegally funded.

Cannon dismissed the charges based on that reasoning after months of wrangling over other pretrial issues in the classified documents case, and had not resolved other major legal questions about the indictment before dismissing it.

Other courts have upheld the use of special counsels. But Cannon said Congress had not given the Justice Department the authority to make such an appointment, while concluding that funding for Smith’s office had not been appropriated properly by lawmakers.

Judge dismisses classified documents case against Donald Trump
Her July 15 ruling leaned on a concurrence written by Justice Clarence Thomas earlier that month in the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity case. That case concerned the separate charge of election interference that Smith brought against Trump in Washington, and the high court’s conservative majority ruled that Trump has presidential immunity that shields him from at least some parts of the case. But Thomas wrote separately to also question the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment.

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said all charges against Trump in several states should be dismissed.

"As we move forward in Uniting our Nation, not only should the dismissal of the Unlawful Indictment in Florida be affirmed, but it should be immediately joined by a dismissal of the ENTIRE Witch Hunt," Cheung said.

Attorneys for the other two defendants in the classified documents case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

 

https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2024/08/26/departamento-justicia-revivir-documentos-clasificados-trump-trax/