Special Counsel Jack Smith makes a statement to reporters about the 37 federal charges returned by a grand jury in an indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump on charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice as Smith speaks at his offices in Washington, U.S. June 9, 2023.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday filed a notice appealing the decision earlier this week by a Florida court federal Judge Aileen Cannon dismissing the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Smith’s appeal, which was expected, will be heard in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which reviews cases arising from Florida federal courts.
Cannon on Monday tossed out the case against Trump and two co-defendants, ruling that Smith’s appointment to prosecute cases involving the former president violated the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Trump was charged in the case filed in Florida Southern District Court with retaining classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago club residence after leaving the White House in January 2021, and with trying to hide them from government officials who sought their return.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Smith, said Wednesday, “We have no comment beyond the filing itself at this time.”
Carr on Monday had said that Cannon’s dismissal of the case “deviates from the uniform conclusion of all
previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel.”
The appeal is likely to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, regardless of how the 11th Circuit appeals court rules.
Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee, is separately charged by Smith in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with four felonies related to his attempts to undo his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
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