Special counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to reverse Judge Aileen Cannon's decision last month to dismiss the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case against Donald Trump. In a brief filed Monday—a day before the deadline—Smith argued that Cannon ignored decades of precedent when she threw out the indictment, the Washington Post reports. In her decision, Cannon said Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in a violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. Smith filed his notice of appeal two days after the ruling.
- In the ruling, "the district court deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorized the Special Counsel's appointment, and took inadequate account of the longstanding history of Attorney General appointments of special counsels," the Monday filing said, per the Hill. He noted that attorneys general have appointed special counsels for more than 150 years.