{"id":1459185,"date":"2024-02-25T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1459185"},"modified":"2024-02-25T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T07:00:00","slug":"trump-seeks-dismissal-of-mar-a-lago-case-says-jack-smith-lacks-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/trump-seeks-dismissal-of-mar-a-lago-case-says-jack-smith-lacks-authority\/1459185\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Mar-a-Lago Case, Says Jack Smith Lacks Authority"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Mar-a-Lago Case, Says Jack Smith Lacks Authority<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

Former President Donald Trump filed several motions to dismiss a classified documents case being pursued against him in Florida on Thursday, arguing that, amongst other things, special counsel Jack Smith \u201clacks the authority\u201d to prosecute the case.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference held at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2024. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

In one of four motions, attorneys for the former president contend that neither the U.S. Constitution nor Congress had officially established the special counsel\u2019s office, rendering Mr. Smith\u2019s appointment invalid.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, they argue that the special counsel\u2019s office is being funded \u201coff the books\u201d by the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

The motion, which cites the Appointments Clause, argues that Attorney General Merrick Garland did not have the authority to appoint a \u201clike-minded political ally\u201d as special counsel \u201cwithout Senate confirmation.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action,\u201d the motion<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s lawyers argue that the only remedy is to dismiss the superseding indictment.<\/p>\n

The Appointments Clause stipulates that all federal offices, except for the president\u2019s, must be established by Congress and appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. This is with the exception of federal offices created through the Necessary and Proper Clause, which empowers Congress to make laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested in the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is, however, no statute establishing the Office of Special Counsel,\u201d the motion reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, because neither the Constitution nor Congress have created the office of the \u2018Special Counsel,\u2019 Smith\u2019s appointment is invalid and any prosecutorial power he seeks to wield is ultra vires<\/strong>,\u201d meaning beyond his authority.<\/p>\n

Funding of Smith\u2019s Office Challenged<\/h2>\n

In addition to arguing that Mr. Smith\u2019s appointment was unlawful, the four motions argued that the case should be dismissed on the basis of presidential immunity, the Presidential Records Act, and unconstitutional vagueness.<\/p>\n

Mr. Garland appointed Mr. Smith as special counsel on Nov. 18, 2022, to \u201cprosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation\u201d into President Trump\u2019s handling of classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s attorneys argue in their Thursday filing that Mr. Smith, at best, is classified as an employee rather than an \u201cofficer\u201d under the statutes cited by Mr. Garland in making his appointment, which they say lacks the legal foundation required by the Appointments Clause.<\/p>\n

Attorneys for the former president argue that Mr. Smith\u2019s office is drawing from an endless \u201coff the books\u201d pot of money from the Department of Justice (DOJ) instead of the ordinary budget process, in violation of the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s DOJ is paying for this politically-motivated prosecution of Biden\u2019s chief political rival \u2018off the books,\u2019 without accountability or authorization,<\/strong>\u201d the motion reads.<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s attorneys, Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, note in their motion that Mr. Smith\u2019s office spent nearly $13 million in Fiscal Year 2023.<\/p>\n

According to the filing, this money did not come from the DOJ\u2019s budget but from the \u201cpermanent indefinite appropriation\u201d only available to independent counsels appointed under the Independent Counsel Act or other law\u2014and not to special counsels.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmith is not an independent counsel, but the nearly $13 million that Smith spent in Fiscal Year 2023\u2014with no accountability\u2014is more than 10% of the annual budgets of DOJ\u2019s Tax and Environment and Natural Resources Divisions,\u201d the motion reads.<\/p>\n

A spokesman from Mr. Smith\u2019s office declined to the comment when contacted by The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

Presidential Records Act, Vague Law, Immunity<\/h2>\n

In three other motions filed on Thursday, attorneys argue that President Trump is immune from prosecution, had the authority to designate the records as personal while in office, and that Section 793(e) is vague and doesn\u2019t apply to the president.<\/p>\n

The former president\u2019s attorneys argue in a motion<\/a> that he exercised his Article II executive authority to designate the records as personal while still in office and that the Presidential Records Act (PRA) granted President Trump \u201cunreviewable discretion\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n

Emphasizing the president\u2019s role as the \u201cconstitutional superior of the archivist,\u201d the attorneys assert that President Trump possessed the authority to determine the classification of records during his tenure.<\/p>\n

The motion maintains that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) holds no sway over personal records.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the attorneys assert that the sole recourse available to NARA is through civil enforcement mechanisms, not criminal investigations.<\/strong> They contend that this wipes out the basis for the 32 counts against President Trump outlined in the superseding indictment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccordingly, pursuant to the PRA, the Superseding Indictment must be dismissed,\u201d the motion reads.<\/p>\n

President Trump\u2019s attorneys, in a separate motion<\/a>, asked the court to dismiss counts one through 32, citing\u00a0the \u201cvoid-for-vagueness doctrine.\u201d They argue that the law is unclear and, therefore, unconstitutional when applied to President Trump.<\/p>\n

They further argue that President Trump is \u201cimmune from prosecution\u201d one counts one through 32 because those charges are based on his \u201calleged decision to designate records as personal\u201d and to \u201ccause the records to be moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs alleged in the Superseding Indictment, President Trump made this decision while he was still in office. The alleged decision was an official act, and as such is subject to presidential immunity<\/strong>,\u201d the motion reads.<\/p>\n

This report was updated with a statement from Mr. Smith\u2019s office.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSat, 02\/24\/2024 – 21:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trump Seeks Dismissal Of Mar-a-Lago Case, Says Jack Smith Lacks Authority Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Former President Donald Trump…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1459185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1459185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1459185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1459185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1459185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}