Jack Smith urges judge to reject Trump’s proposal to dismiss J6 case through nomination challenge

Special prosecutor Jack Smith on Thursday pushed back against former President Donald Trump’s decision to dismiss the Jan. 6 case against him, maintaining that Smith was illegally appointed.

Trump’s lawyers submitted their application last week to dismiss the case, arguing that Smith’s nomination violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution because he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland and was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Trump’s legal team made the same case regarding the former president’s secret documents in Florida released by Judge Aileen Cannon.

Smith argued Thursday that Judge Tanya Chutkan should not have granted Trump’s request because his team waited too long to file it, Hill reported.

“Defendant’s failure to timely file a challenge to the special counsel’s authority to litigate this matter and his failure to establish good cause for the late filing of the lawsuit should preclude the Court from considering this claim,” Smith’s team wrote. “Nothing in the superseding indictment provided a basis for his motion that did not previously exist.”

Smith’s team also noted that historical precedent is on its side, as the special counsel has investigated other presidents in the past, including former President Richard Nixon.

“Contrary to defendant’s contention, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Nixon that the Attorney General has the statutory authority … to appoint a special prosecutor is binding,” prosecutors wrote. “The statutory analysis confirms that this determination was correct and that the long history of special prosecutors’ advisory appointments reflected the Attorney General’s authority to appoint special counsel here.”

Trump is currently facing four charges in Washington related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Misty Severi is the evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on x for greater coverage.