Special Poll
Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a brief defending the legality of his appointment after Judge Aileen Cannon declared it unconstitutional.
Attorney General Merrick Garland supported Smith, saying:
“For more than 20 years, I was a federal judge. Do I look like somebody who would make that basic mistake about the law? I don’t think so.”
Garland emphasized the appointment process was constitutional and valid, as it has been upheld by every court, including the Supreme Court.
Smith’s brief was filed a day early, pushing Trump’s deadline to respond up by a day.
No request for expedited treatment of the appeal was made, meaning the case may drag on for months before being resolved by a three-judge panel in Atlanta.
Further appeals to the full bench of the 11th Circuit or the Supreme Court are possible.
Political reactions:
The timeline likely ensures the classified documents case will remain unresolved during the final weeks of the 2024 campaign.
Smith has also brought charges against Trump in Washington, D.C., related to the 2020 election, with the future of that case also uncertain due to a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
If Trump wins the election, he is expected to shut down both cases.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called for “a dismissal of all the witch hunts,” labeling the prosecutions as part of “an election interference conspiracy” and urged an end to the “weaponization of our justice system.”
Trump’s legal response to Smith’s brief is due late next month.