Special counsel urges appeals court to reinstate classified documents case against Trump

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, Ga, on Saturday, August 3, 2024.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, Ga, on Saturday, August 3, 2024. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court Monday to reinstate the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump after it was dismissed by a judge last month.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case, one of four prosecutions of Trump, after concluding that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional.

Smith’s team then appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with prosecutors saying in their appeal brief that Cannon’s decision is “at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government.”