Special counsel urges appeal court to reinstate classified documents case against Trump

Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeal court on Monday to reinstate the classified documents case against former US president Donald Trump, saying a judge’s decision that dismissed the prosecution was at odds with long-standing Justice Department practice and must be reversed.

Smith’s team said US District Judge Aileen Cannon made a grievous mistake by ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. That position, prosecutors wrote in a brief filed with the Atlanta-based appeal court, runs counter to rulings by judges across the country as well as “widespread and long-standing appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government”.

If allowed to stand, they warned, it could “jeopardise the long-standing operation of the Justice Department and call into question hundreds of appointments throughout the Executive Branch”.

“The Attorney General validly appointed the Special Counsel, who is also properly funded,” prosecutors wrote.

“In ruling otherwise, the district court deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorised the Special Counsel’s appointment, and took inadequate account of the long-standing history of Attorney General appointments of special counsels.”