Leroy N. Soetoro
2024-10-25 23:17:12 UTC
Reply
Permalinksmith-is-not-a-valid-officer-in-bid-to-dismiss-jan-6-case/
Former President Donald Trump is challenging the legitimacy of special
counsel Jack Smiths appointment in a new case, claiming Smith was
unlawfully appointed and is not a valid officer under the Constitution.
In a motion filed in federal court in the Jan. 6 case against him, Trumps
attorneys argued that Smiths appointment violates the appointments
clause, asserting that Attorney General Merrick Garland lacked the
authority to appoint Smith without Senate confirmation.
Even if Smith is a valid officer, which he is not, he is a principal
rather than an inferior officer and his appointment is plainly
unconstitutional because he was never nominated by the President or
confirmed by the Senate, wrote Trumps attorney in a 30-page filing.
Trumps legal team leaned heavily on a concurring opinion from Justice
Clarence Thomas in the Supreme Courts July 1 decision in Trump v. United
States, in which the conservative justice questioned whether Smiths role
had been established by law.
Trumps lawyers asserted that the issue of Smiths appointment must be
resolved before the Jan. 6 prosecution can proceed.
This argument echoes the legal strategy that previously led Trump-
appointed Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss another criminal case brought by
Smith against Trump regarding classified documents. In that case, Cannon
sided with Trump when dismissing the charges based on arguments related to
the appointments clause. Trumps legal team hopes for a similar outcome in
this instance, although the current case is being overseen by Judge Tanya
Chutkan, who has seldom ruled in Trumps favor.
After Cannons decision, Garland disputed the ruling and said he partook
in the same process of appointing special counsel as was followed in the
previous administration, pointing to special counsels John Durham and
Robert Mueller, who were appointed during the Trump administration.
In addition to challenging Smiths appointment, Trumps motion claimed
that the special counsels office has misused taxpayer funds. According to
the filing, Smiths team has spent more than $20 million inappropriately,
drawing on an expired 1987 appropriation related to the defunct
Independent Counsel Act.
Trump argued that the governments reliance on outdated legal frameworks
is a violation of the appropriations clause, and the filing seeks an
injunction to halt further spending by Smiths office.
This latest motion aims to affect the trajectory of the case, as Trump and
allies have stressed that the continued proceedings just days before
Election Day mark a form of election interference. Chutkan recently
issued a ruling responding to that allegation from Trump, writing in an
order that stopping pretrial proceedings at this time would in itself mark
a form of election interference by the court.
Legal experts have said Chutkans track record of ruling against Trump
makes the outcome of Smiths removal in this case less likely, while the
U.S. appeals court is poised to weigh soon whether Cannon erred by
dismissing the classified documents case earlier this year under the same
legal theory.
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.