A federal appeals court has thwarted special counsel Jack Smith’s latest attempt to quickly revive his classified documents case against former President Donald Trump after it was dismissed earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida.
Politico reported that Smith’s attempt to bring the case back to life is currently struggling, following the 11th Circuit Appeals Court’s decision to extend the deadline for both parties to present their arguments in a case that is now guaranteed to stay unresolved until the November election. This decision was made just over a month after Cannon determined that the federal law is unclear regarding Smith’s appointment as a Justice Department official by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Once all the submissions, due in mid-October, are complete, the appeals court is set to consider the case through oral arguments, with a final decision anticipated to be made weeks or months later.
The appeals court ruling is a significant setback for Smith, who has long been Trump’s primary adversary, battling Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, over his belief that she has been biased in the case. In April, the prosecutor requested that Cannon make a quick decision on jury instructions concerning the Presidential Records Act, so he could challenge the decision if she allowed defense lawyers to claim that all documents in Trump’s custody were made public during his presidency.
In response, Cannon unsealed a collection of papers revealing that Smith and the prosecutors from the Department of Justice intimidated the lawyer representing a Trump defendant and worked together with the U.S. National Archives to ensure Trump’s legal team was excluded from the planning process for the raid of Mar-a-Lago. Trump has previously pointed out a document indicating that FBI agents who carried out the invasion received authorization to employ lethal force.
Smith, meanwhile, is still pursuing legal action against Trump in the D.C. district, where the former president is charged with four election interference offenses connected to his activities and remarks about the January 6th, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. In this case, a judge appointed by President Obama has shown a more supportive stance towards the prosecutor, enforcing a gag order on Trump and scheduling a trial before the extensive evidence has been thoroughly reviewed.
Still, most legal observers believe U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will be unable to make a decision before the election; if Trump wins, he is expected to move immediately to have the DOJ drop both cases against him.