Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed a notice of appeal against a Florida court’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit against former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.
U.S. District Judge Eileen Cannon on Monday dismissed Smith’s lawsuit, finding that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of him as special counsel was unconstitutional.
“Former President Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on the unlawful appointment and funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is granted pursuant to this order,” Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, wrote in Monday’s ruling. “Because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the indictment is dismissed.”
Trump said: Smith’s investigation Smith was accused of possessing classified materials at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. He has pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges brought against him in the investigation, including knowingly possessing national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
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Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on August 1, 2023, about a recently unsealed indictment containing four felony counts against former US President Donald Trump. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
A notice of appeal was filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Justice Department had no further comment Wednesday. A spokesman for Smith previously said, “The dismissal of this case departs from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts that have considered the issue that the Attorney General has the legal authority to appoint a special counsel,” and that the Justice Department had given leave to the special counsel to appeal the court’s order.
The Appointments Clause states that “Ambassadors, other Ministers and Consuls, Justices of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States are appointed by the President, subject to the Advice and Consent of the Senate, but the appointment of inferior officers may be left to the President alone, or to the Courts, or to the Heads of Departments.”
However, Smith was not confirmed by the Senate.
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Former President Donald Trump held a rally on May 23, 2024, in New York City’s historically Democratic-held South Bronx neighborhood. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“After careful consideration of the fundamental issues raised in this complaint, the Court is convinced that Special Counsel Smith’s prosecution of this case violates two structural foundations of our constitutional system: Congress’ role in appointing constitutional offices and Congress’ role in authorizing statutory expenditures,” Judge Cannon wrote Monday.
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A courtroom sketch shows former President Donald Trump appearing in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Lothar Speer)
“The Framers To Parliament “It plays a vital role in the appointment of top and junior executives, a role which cannot be usurped or dispersed elsewhere by the executive, whether in this case or another, whether in times of urgent national need or not,” she continued.
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“In the case of lower-level officials, Congress has the power to determine whether to grant appointment power to agency heads, and in fact Congress has demonstrated the ability to do so in the context of many other statutes. But Congress has clearly not done so, despite the special counsel’s aggressive interpretation of the statute,” Cannon added.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang responded to Smith’s notice of appeal on Wednesday, saying, “As we move forward to unite our country after Saturday’s horrific events, the dropping of this lawless indictment in Florida is only the first step, and should be quickly followed by the dropping of the entire witch hunt.”
“The Democratic-led Department of Justice must immediately stop their politically motivated election interference attempts against President Trump. Let’s end the weaponization of our justice system and unite to Make America Great Again!” he said.
Chang was referring to the assassination attempt on President Trump that took place at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania a few days earlier.
Fox News Digital’s Bill Mears contributed to this report.
