Judge in Trump classified documents case to hear challenge to special counsel's appointment

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is holding a hearing Friday on former President Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the classified documents indictment against him on the argument that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional.

Trump's lawyers filed a motion in February, claiming that the appointments clause of the Constitution "does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States. As such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action."

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel in November 2022, tasking him with overseeing the federal investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents after he was president as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Trump's attorneys wrote that "because neither the Constitution nor Congress have created the office of the 'Special Counsel,' Smith’s appointment is invalid."

They also argued that the funding of Smith's investigation violates the Constitution's appropriations clause.

"President Biden’s DOJ is paying for this politically motivated prosecution of Biden’s chief political rival 'off the books,' without accountability or authorization," their motion said. "Rather than funding the Special Counsel’s Office through the ordinary budget process, Jack Smith is drawing on a permanent indefinite appropriation that, by its terms and under the Reno Regulations, is not available to Special Counsel. Thus, Smith’s funding violates the Appropriations Clause."

Consequently, the court should dismiss the superseding indictment against him and the other two defendants in