Jack Smith slams 'meritless' filing that caused Judge Cannon's 'worrisome' commentary

Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday evening hit back against a brief from former Reagan era Attorney General Ed Meese, who called on Judge Cannon to dismiss charges against Trump in the criminal case involving stashed classified documents.

Less than two weeks ago, Cannon filed to the Florida federal court a paperless order accepting two amicus briefs, one from the America First Legal Foundation and one from former Reagan era Attorney General Ed Meese, calling on the Florida federal judge to dismiss charges against Trump, court records show.

"The Court has reviewed the motions" Cannon wrote at the time, "and finds that the proposed amicus bring to the Court's attention relevant matter that may be of considerable help to the Court in resolving the cited pretrial motions." While some lawyers suggested the language Cannon used was boilerplate for similar briefs, former federal prosecutor and frequent MSNBC commentator Andrew Weissmann immediately expressed his concern about it, saying the "commentary from the court is worrisome."

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Now, Smith has responded to the Meese filing.

In his response brief, the prosecutor says the additional arguments contained in that filing are "meritless." Meese had argued that Smith was improperly appointed to the position of special counsel because he was not confirmed through a thorough Senate process.

The filing states that the "Special Counsel, who is subject to direction and supervision by a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed officer, is an inferior officer for whom presidential nomination and Senate confirmation is not required."

"Nothing in the Meese Amicus therefore supports Trump’s dismissal motion," the filing states.

Read the full brief.