Special counsel Jack Smith appeals dismissal of Trump classified documents case

• Special counsel Jack Smith filed a notice appealing the decision earlier this week by Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon that dismissed the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
• Smith's appeal, which was expected, will be heard in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which reviews cases arising from Florida federal courts.
• Trump was charged with retaining hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club residence after leaving the White House and with thwarting their recovery by government officials.

Special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday filed a notice appealing the stunning decision earlier this week by Florida court federal Judge Aileen Cannon that dismissed the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Smith's appeal, which was expected, will be heard in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which reviews cases arising from Florida federal courts.

Cannon on Monday tossed out the case against Trump and two co-defendants, ruling that Smith's appointment to prosecute cases involving the former president violated the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump was charged in the case filed in Florida Southern District Court with retaining hundreds of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago club residence after leaving the White House in January 2021, and with trying to hide them from government officials who sought their return.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Smith, said Wednesday, "We have no comment beyond the filing itself at this time."

Carr on Monday had said that Cannon's dismissal of the case "deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the