Special Counsel Jack Smith has continued to defend his appointment in court, despite the prosecutor's decision to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump. Smith presented final written arguments to challenge the ruling that deemed his appointment unlawful.
In a recent brief, Smith urged a federal appeals court to reverse the trial judge's decision that halted the prosecution of Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents. Notably, Trump is no longer listed as a defendant in the case filings.
Smith explained that he dropped the case against Trump due to the President-elect's recent re-election. However, he emphasized that he would proceed with prosecuting Trump's co-defendants, two former president's employees facing obstruction-related charges.
The Justice Department is also interested in appealing the dismissal of the case as it could impact future special counsel investigations. The ruling by Judge Aileen Cannon was the first to challenge the department's reliance on special counsels.
Smith's team highlighted the Attorney General's historical authority to appoint special prosecutors and cited previous court rulings, including the Supreme Court's decision in Nixon, that upheld such appointments.
The timeline for the 11th Circuit to resolve the appeal remains uncertain. The incoming Trump administration's Department of Justice will likely need to determine the next steps in the case.
While oral arguments have not been scheduled yet, the appeals court may choose to hold them in the future.
