Jack Smith urges Trump classified docs judge to set aside Clarence Thomas opinion on special counsels
Trump's lawyers want the judge to consider Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion that the appointment of Smith as special counsel could violate the Constitution.
Federal prosecutor Jack Smith is urging the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case not to take into consideration a concurring opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that calls into question his authority as a special counsel.
In a court filing Friday, Smith agreed to a briefing on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and how it pertains to Trump’s case in Florida. But he sought to dissuade U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon from factoring in Thomas’ opinion, which Trump’s lawyers say should be discussed.
“That single-Justice concurrence ... neither binds this Court nor provides a sound basis to deviate from the uniform conclusion of all courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel,” prosecutors in Smith’s office wrote.
Thomas had suggested that the appointment of Smith as special counsel raised a potential violation of the Constitution’s provisions on appointment power, and how an office may be created.
“If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution. A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President,” Thomas wrote.
Rating: 5