Justice Department seeks to revive case against Trump over classified documents, argues judge's dismissal was “flawed” • South Dakota Searchlight

WASHINGTON – U.S. special counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to overturn the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of improperly handling classified documents at his Florida home after leaving the Oval Office.

The appeals process could take months and is likely to result in the classified documents case against Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, being brought to a halt before the November election.

Smith argued late Monday that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's decision to dismiss the case was based on the “flawed” reasoning that Smith was illegally appointed as special counsel.

In an 81-page brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Smith cited Watergate-era statutes and a Supreme Court decision to support the long-established legality of U.S. attorneys general appointing and funding independent or special prosecutors.

Federal judge dismisses criminal case over Trump's secret documents

“In ruling otherwise, the district court departed from binding Supreme Court precedent, misinterpreted the statutes authorizing the special counsel's appointment, and failed to adequately consider the long history of the Attorney General's appointment of special counsels,” Smith wrote.

He also warned: “[t]The district court's reasoning could jeopardize the Justice Department's years of work and call into question hundreds of appointments across the executive branch.”

Cannon, a federal judge for the Southern District of Florida, dismissed the lawsuit against Trump related to the classified documents on July 15, two days after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and just as the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin had begun.

Cannon is a Trump appointee who was nominated in 2020 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate later that year.

Trump had argued for the case to be dismissed in February.

Days before he was due to officially accept his party's presidential nomination, Trump hailed Cannon's firing as a way to unite the nation after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Cannon argued that Smith's appointment violated two clauses of the U.S. Constitution that govern how presidential administrations and Congress appoint and confirm “officers of the United States” and how taxpayer money may be used to pay their salaries and other expenses.

Just a few days later, Smith appealed her decision.

Case of historical secret documents

Smith's historic case against Trump marked the first time a former U.S. president was charged in federal court.

In June 2023, a grand jury issued a 37-count indictment accusing the former president and his adviser Walt Nauta of crimes related to the misuse of classified documents after Trump's term in office, including storing them at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Just over a month later, a new indictment was filed with additional charges and another co-defendant.

The case involving the secret documents is just one of several legal entanglements for Trump, who was convicted as a felon in a New York state court in May.

Federal criminal proceedings also remain pending against the former president for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. This case, too, has been on hold for several months as Trump appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the charges should be dropped due to the president's criminal immunity.

The Supreme Court ruled in early July that former presidents enjoy immunity for official “core constitutional laws” and sent the case back to federal court in Washington, DC.

Smith has until the end of August to assess how the immunity decision affects the election fraud case against Trump. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for September 5.