Posted on 10/24/2024 6:29:20 PM PDT by T Ruth
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump filed a motion Thursday to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case, arguing that Smith was illegally appointed and should no longer receive public funds, according to court filings.
The election interference case between Trump and Smith has escalated over the past month, with Judge Tanya Chutkan releasing a redacted version of Smith’s 165-page brief on Oct. 2, detailing the case’s evidence. Trump’s legal team now claims that the “unjust case” violates the “Constitution’s Appointments and Appropriations Clauses” due to Smith not being properly appointed “by law.”
“Even if Smith is a valid officer, which he is not, he is a principal rather than an inferior officer and his appointment is plainly unconstitutional because he was never nominated by the President or confirmed by the Senate. This conclusion follows from the lack of effective oversight over Smith, coupled with the extremely broad jurisdiction described in the appointment order,” the filing states. “In addition, unless and until he is removed, the duration of Smith’s tenure is governed by his subjective determination of when his so-called “work” is “concluded.” These features of Smith’s role also violate the Appointments Clause.”
In November 2022, Attorney General Merick Garland named Smith to oversee the case involving the former president, which his lawyer’s claim violated the appointments clause .... They argue Smith, as a “private-citizen,” was appointed to “target President Trump, while President Trump was campaigning to take back the Oval Office from the Attorney General’s boss, without a statutory basis for doing so.”
On July 15, Judge Aileen Cannon, who oversaw Jack Smith’s second case against former President Trump regarding mishandling classified documents, granted a motion by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case on the grounds that Smith’s appointment as special prosecutor was unlawful. ...
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(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
It will force resources to be diverted into it.
If they don’t do that, then they are tacitly admitting they screwed up.
“There must be some good legal strategy as to why this is filed now rather than earlier, but such strategy is not obvious to me.”
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A cynic might say Trump realizes he may lose and is hedging his bets so he has an appealable ruling from the DC courts.
If nothing else, it will be a good explanation why Trump fires him on Inauguration Day.
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