Judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will need to decide whether to accept the appeal.
Prosecutor Jay Bratt on July 17 filed a notice of appeal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s recent dismissal of the indictment against former President Donald Trump.
The judge ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed to his office, as the attorney general had no constitutional nor statutory authority to appoint an officer with the breadth of power given to Mr. Smith.
Judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will need to decide whether to accept the appeal.
Peter Carr, spokesperson for the special counsel, said the Justice Department had authorized an appeal when the judge issued the July 15 ruling.
“The 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,” Mr. Carr said in a statement.
2 Cases
The ruling that dismissed the indictment against the former president and two of his employees found that Mr. Smith had no authority to prosecute the case in the Southern District of Florida.
However, Mr. Smith continues to prosecute a second case against former President Trump in the District of Columbia, where in 2018 a district judge ruled that attorneys general had the authority to appoint inferior officers such as special counsel, and in 2019 the circuit court upheld the decision on appeal.
The District of Columbia indictment charges former President Trump with conspiracy and obstruction based on his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. The case was recently remanded to the district court after the Supreme Court ruled that former President Trump has presidential immunity for some actions in the indictment.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will have to make sure all actions for which a president enjoys immunity are struck from the indictment before the case can move forward.
Appointments Clause
Judge Cannon dismissed the classified documents case based on the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that officers must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate and that Congress can pass laws to allow department heads to appoint specific officers of their own accord.
