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Trump argues Smith unlawfully appointed in documents and election cases
Washington — Former President Donald Trump urged two separate federal courts to toss out the criminal charges brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, arguing in both instances that Smith was unlawfully appointed and did not have the legal backing to prosecute the cases.
Trump’s requests were made to the federal district court in Washington, D.C., which is overseeing the case stemming from the 2020 election, and the U.S. appeals court in Atlanta, which is reviewing a lower court ruling that dismissed the separate case that arose out of the former president’s alleged mishandling of documents marked classified.
In the case in Washington, Trump is seeking to file a motion to dismiss the four criminal charges brought against him based on the legality of Smith’s appointment of special counsel. A district court judge in South Florida, who is overseeing the documents case, ordered an end to that prosecution in July after she found Smith was unconstitutionally appointed and funded.
The special counsel appealed that decision earlier this year, arguing U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled incorrectly. He is expected to also oppose Trump’s bid to toss out the charges stemming from what prosecutors allege was an illegal effort by the former president to hold onto power after the 2020 election.
The documents case
The federal appeals court is set to decide whether to revive Smith’s prosecution of Trump over his handling of sensitive government records and alleged attempts to obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation.
But in a filing with that court, the U.S Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, submitted Friday, Trump’s legal team argued the ruling from Cannon, who was appointed by the former president, was sound and should stand.
“There is not, and never has been, a basis for Jack Smith’s unlawful crusade against President Trump,” his lawyers wrote. “For almost two years, Smith has operated unlawfully, backed by a largely unscrutinized blank check drawn on taxpayer dollars.”
They argued the appeal involved issues that present risks to the institution of the presidency and said the district court’s decision was correct based on text, history, structure and practices.
Prosecutors allege Trump kept sensitive government documents at his South Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House in January 2021 and stymied government efforts to retrieve the records. The special counsel also charged Trump and two employees with impeding the federal investigation. He and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, pleaded not guilty. Cannon dismissed the charges against all three defendants.
The FBI recovered more than 100 documents bearing classification markings during a court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and prosecutors later revealed that boxes of records were kept on a stage in the estate’s ballroom, in a bathroom and shower, and in a storage room.
Trump has claimed that the criminal case against him is politically motivated and denied wrongdoing. He sought to dismiss the indictment on numerous grounds, including the argument that Smith didn’t have the legal authority to file the charges at all because of the way Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him in 2022.
The former president’s legal team argued Smith’s independent position within the Justice Department violated the Constitution. But Smith’s team pushed back, arguing in court filings that the naming of a special counsel was backed by Justice Department precedent that had been validated in previous cases by other federal courts.
The most recent involved the appointment of Robert Mueller in 2017 to oversee an investigation into Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld Mueller’s appointment in 2019.
Cannon held several days of arguments in June to consider the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment before issuing her decision tossing out the 40 charges the former president faced.
“The bottom line is this: The Appointments Clause is a critical constitutional restriction stemming from the separation of powers, and it gives to Congress a considered role in determining the propriety of vesting appointment power for inferior officers,” she wrote. “The special counsel’s position effectively usurps that important legislative authority, transferring it to a head of department, and in the process threatening the structural liberty inherent in the separation of powers.”
In addition to finding that Smith’s appointment violated the Appointments Clause, Cannon said the special counsel’s office has been drawing funds from the Treasury without statutory authorization in violation of the Appropriations Clause.
Cannon’s decision — and Trump’s filings — cited a concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas in the 2020 election case involving Trump, which he sought to dismiss on the grounds of presidential immunity. The Supreme Court ruled former presidents are shielded from prosecution for official acts taken while in the White House, and Thomas wrote separately to question the legality of Smith’s appointment. No other justice joined Thomas’ opinion and it is not binding.
Smith asked the 11th Circuit to review Cannon’s decision and resurrect the case against Trump, arguing the special counsel was “validly appointed” by the attorney general and properly funded.
“In ruling otherwise, the district court deviated from binding Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorized the special counsel’s appointment, and took inadequate account of the longstanding history of attorney general appointments of special counsels,” prosecutors said in their opening brief to the appeals court.
The question of whether Smith was lawfully appointed could end up before the Supreme Court.
The 2020 election case
Proceedings in the election case in Washington had been on hold for months while the Supreme Court weighed whether Trump was entitled to immunity from prosecution, but they resumed in September. In the wake of the high court’s decision, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that charged Trump with four felony counts but narrowed the allegations against him to comply with the high court’s new framework for presidential immunity.
Trump pleaded not guilty. He is expected to again seek to have the case dismissed on immunity grounds, but in a filing Thursday, also argued that the charges should be tossed out because Smith was unlawfully appointed. The former president also wants the judge to prohibit the special and his office from spending any more public dollars.
“Everything that Smith did since Attorney General Garland’s appointment, as President Trump continued his leading campaign against President Biden and then Vice President Harris, was unlawful and unconstitutional,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
They said their proposed motion to dismiss the indictment “establishes that this unjust case was dead on arrival — unconstitutional even before its inception.”
Trump’s team argued that Smith’s appointment is “plainly unconstitutional” because he was not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
As to the special counsel’s funding, the defense claimed that Smith has been operating with a “blank check.”
Smith is expected to have a turn at bolstering his appointment in the coming weeks and will likely echo the defenses he deployed in the classified documents case.
Chutkan, as a federal judge in Washington, does not have to adhere to the ruling in Trump’s other prosecution and has indicated she disagrees with Cannon’s conclusion that Smith’s appointment was outside constitutional bounds.
During a September hearing, Chutkan said she didn’t find that ruling to be “particularly persuasive” and noted she is bound by the 2019 decision from the D.C. Circuit upholding an earlier special counsel appointment.
Trump is vying for a second term in the White House and has said he would fire Smith “within two seconds” if he defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Israel’s pre-dawn airstrikes on military targets in Iran in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic republic fired on Israel earlier this month were met with mixed reactions both at home and abroad.
Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though Iran insisted the strikes caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state-run media downplayed the attacks. Iran’s army said two of its troops were killed in the attack, Iran’s Al-Alam television reported.
The strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.
The United States, which was given advanced warning of the attacks, urged against further retaliation, while Britain and Germany said Iran should not respond.
“As the Israelis have stated, their response was an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran’s attack against Israel that targeted Israel’s most populous city,” Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement, adding: “It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region. We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”
President Biden told reporters on Saturday that Israel gave him a heads-up before the strikes, and said it looked like “they didn’t hit anything but military targets.” Mr. Biden said he had just finished a call with intelligence officials.
“I hope this is the end,” he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking at the Commonwealth Summit in Samoa, said Iran should not respond to Israeli airstrikes and urged all sides to show restraint.
“This is a live situation, and we are obviously monitoring it closely alongside our partners,” Starmer said. “We need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond. We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation across the region.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the United Nations secretary-general said: “All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop.”
At home, Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets,” saying on X that “we could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran.”
Saudi Arabia was one of multiple countries in the region condemning the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s “sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.” Its foreign ministry rejected the escalation in the region.
In a statement on Facebook, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it “condemns all actions that threaten the security and stability of the region … “
It said a cease-fire deal in Gaza “is the sole means to de-escalate” tensions in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Turkey accused Israel of having “brought our region to the brink of a greater war” following its strikes on Iran.
“Putting an end to the terror created by Israel in the region has become a historic duty in terms of establishing international security and peace,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It called on the international community to take “immediate action to enforce the law and stop the Netanyahu government.”
Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had a right to self-defense, and “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.”
After the strikes, the streets in Iran’s capital were calm and children went to school and shops opened as usual. The only sign of concern was long lines at the gas stations — a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares as people stock up on fuel.
Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country’s nuclear program.
During their yearslong shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iranian nuclear installations have been hacked or sabotaged.
SAN ANTONIO – A Texas man who wore a hat supporting former President Donald Trump punched an election worker who told him that wearing items endorsing a candidate are prohibited at voting sites, a sheriff said Friday.
The election worker, identified as a 69-year-old man, was treated at the scene Thursday and returned to his election post at a San Antonio library on Friday, officials said. The suspect was arrested on felony charges of assaulting an elderly person and could face additional charges, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
The alleged assault happened at the end of the first week of early voting in Texas, where long lines have stretched outside some polling places.
Both the sheriff and county elections administrator urged voters to stay calm and patient during sometimes long waits to vote during what they described as a contentious election.
“Thankfully there was nothing life-threatening about what occurred, but it was still an ugly incident,” Salazar said.
The suspect, identified as Jesse Lutzenberger, remained in jail Friday evening, according to Bexar County records. Jail records did not list an attorney and a phone number for Lutzenberger’s home could not immediately be found Friday.
Under Texas law, wearing clothing for or against a candidate inside a polling place is prohibited, as it’s considered electioneering. Lutzenberger allegedly entered the polling location in a red “MAGA or TRUMP” baseball cap, according to an arrest affidavit.
After being told he had to remove his cap in the voting area, Lutzenberger did and proceeded to cast a ballot, according to Salazar. He then put the cap back on before leaving, followed by the clerk again telling him remove the hat while inside the building.
As the clerk escorted him out of the library, Lutzenberger allegedly threw an elbow or arm back toward the clerk and then turned to punch him in the face multiple times, according to Salazar.
The clerk was treated at the scene by emergency medical personnel, Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said.
Salazar said there have been “several” incidents of voters wearing prohibited clothing or caps into polling places, but they then removed them when the state law was explained to them.
“Nothing here is worth getting hurt for, going to jail for,” he said.
CBS News
At least 126 dead and missing after landslides, massive flooding in Philippines brought by Tropical Storm Trami
The number of dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides wrought by Tropical Storm Trami in the Philippines has reached nearly 130 and the president said Saturday that many areas remained isolated with people in need of rescue.
Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 85 people dead and 41 others missing in in one of the Southeast Asian archipelago’s deadliest and most destructive storms so far this year, the government’s disaster-response agency said. The death toll was expected to rise as reports come in from previously isolated areas.
Dozens of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel, backed by three backhoes and sniffer dogs, dug up one of the last two missing villagers in the lakeside town of Talisay in Batangas province Saturday.
Aaron Favila / AP
A father, who was waiting for word on his missing 14-year-old daughter, wept as rescuers placed the remains in a black body bag. Distraught, he followed police officers, who carried the body bag down a mud-strewn village alley to a police van when one weeping resident approaching him to express her sympathies.
The man said he was sure it was his daughter, but authorities needed to do checks to confirm the identity of the villager dug up in the mound.
In a nearby basketball gym at the town center, more than a dozen white coffins were laid side by side, bearing the remains of those found in the heaps of mud, boulders and trees that cascaded Thursday afternoon down the steep slope of a wooded ridge in Talisay’s Sampaloc village.
President Ferdinand Marcos, who inspected another hard-hit region southeast of Manila Saturday, said the unusually large volume of rainfall dumped by the storm — including in some areas that saw one to two months’ worth of rainfall in just 24 hours — overwhelmed flood controls in provinces lashed by Trami.
“The water was just too much,” Marcos told reporters.
“We’re not done yet with our rescue work,” he said. “Our problem here, there are still many areas that remained flooded and could not be accessed even big trucks.”
His administration, Marcos said, would plan to start work on a major flood control project that can meet the unprecedented threats posed by climate change.
Aaron Favila / AP
More than 5 million people were in the path of the storm, including nearly half a million who mostly fled to more than 6,300 emergency shelters in several provinces, the government agency said.
In an emergency Cabinet meeting, Marcos raised concerns over reports by government forecasters that the storm — the 11th to hit the Philippines this year — could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea.
The storm was forecast to batter Vietnam over the weekend if it would not veer off course.
The Philippine government shut down schools and government offices for the third day on Friday to keep millions of people safe on the main northern island of Luzon. Inter-island ferry services were also suspended, stranding thousands.
Weather has cleared in many areas on Saturday, allowing cleanup work in most areas.
Each year, about 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and flattened entire villages.
In 2015, a massive landslide buried dozens of homes near a central Philippine mountain, killing at least 15 people and sending rescuers scrambling to find survivors after some sent text messages pleading for help.
