Donald Trump's Justice Department dismissed the previous appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals about appointing special counsel Jack Smith.
Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, and thus, the classified documents theft case should be dismissed. The decision was then appealed.
This means that if Trump were to appoint a special counsel to investigate former President Joe Biden a ruling is on the books saying such an appointment would be constitutional.
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"Why this was not done by Jack Smith and Merrick Garland is a mystery, and an outrage. It could have expedited release of the damning report on Trump's misuse of our biggest secrets," complained political scientist Norman Ornstein.
However, one legal analyst thinks this means there's no barrier to seeing Smith's report.
"No legal basis left for the Department of Justice to refrain from letting the public now see Jack Smith's final report in the classified documents case," lamented JustSecurity editor and NYU Law School Professor Ryan Goodman. "Department of Justice just submitted motion to dismiss the appeal against co-defendants Nauta and De Oliveira in the case."
"Note: They fired all the people who might still have this report, then dropped the appeal," said national security expert Marcy Wheeler. "Now let's see if Hunter Biden or Alexander Smirnov argue to have their prosecutions thrown out, as they should."
"In an entirely unsurprising move, DOJ is dismissing as to Trump‘s co-defendants in the classified documents case. This was inevitable, but leaves open the question of whether Special Counsel’s report will ever be released," said former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.
