Special counsel deploys 'sass' in filing on classified documents case: legal analysts
April 03, 2024
A new response filed by Jack Smith in the classified documents case was made public late Tuesday and, according to legal analysts, the special counsel is deploying creative retorts in his reply to the judge.
Former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg told MSNBC on Wednesday that Smith had no choice but to call out the judge for "failing a law school exam" in her handling of the classified information case. Smith knocked Judge Aileen Cannon for her directions for jury instructions, pointing out that they are based on "a fundamentally flawed legal premise."
Cannon had asked lawyers in the case to prepare instructions directing jurors to consider if classified documents Trump was hoarding were his personal property under the Presidential Records Act.
Her direction came after Trump claimed that the PRA protects him because it allows him to classify the documents as "personal" — a claim many experts described as "crazy."
Greenberg explained to MSNBC, "[Smith] had to" go on the attack."
The X account "Secrets and Lies," which purports to be run by a former CIA attorney, also pointed to Smith's language in the filing, claiming he used "sass" in his argument, ridiculing Trump's claims that he can make highly secret information personal, "even if he lacks a security clearance, lacks a need to know classified information, and stores information outside of a secure facility."
Trump faces 31 charges under the Espionage Act involving allegations that he took the documents after he left the White House and refused to return them.
ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why Judge Cannon must step away from Trump trial immediately
"For the non-lawyers, putting some sass into a brief is not that uncommon, as it can fairly be interpreted as being directed at the other party's stupid arguments," Secrets and Lies posted. "But DOJ is putting it into a proposed jury instruction, which is really taking direct aim at Cannon. It's unusual."
As former ethics czar and legal analyst Norm Eisen explained, “fundamentally flawed legal premise” is a "polite term" for "that’s nuts."
See Greenberg's comments in the video below or at the link here.
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