President Trump's defense team is set to argue at a hearing in Florida on Friday that the classified documents case against him should be dismissed on the grounds that Jack Smith was allegedly unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Judge Aileen Cannon has scheduled the hearing as she addresses various legal motions filed by Trump to challenge the case.
The hearing will consider Trump's February request to dismiss the case, asserting that Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Appointments Clause when appointing Smith to lead two prosecutions against Trump.
An amicus brief was submitted in support of Trump by two former Republican attorneys general and two law professors. They noted that only two special counsels in the past 40 years, Jack Smith and Robert Mueller, were appointed without Senate confirmation as U.S. attorneys.
Smith’s team contends that his appointment as special counsel complies with the Appointments Clause and that his office is properly funded by Congress.
Initially, Trump's trial on 40 charges related to allegedly retaining national defense information was scheduled for May this year. However, Cannon scrapped that date and has not yet scheduled a new trial, citing numerous disputes and pre-trial steps that need resolution. She may address some of these issues after Friday’s hearing or in additional hearings beginning Monday, but it seems increasingly unlikely that the trial will commence before the presidential election.
Cannon has also scheduled a hearing for Monday to consider Smith's request to modify Trump’s release conditions to restrict his speech regarding law enforcement officials involved in the case.
