Trump Florida judge allows legal scholars to debate legality of special counsel
By
Kaelan Deese
June 5, 2024 11:41 am
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The federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump‘s Florida classified documents case will allow legal scholars to participate in oral arguments for and against the constitutionality of Jack Smith‘s appointment as special counsel.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said in an order Tuesday that she would allow 30 minutes for each legal scholar to present their arguments at a June 21 hearing about why Smith may or may not have been legally appointed by the Justice Department. The hearing is part of Trump’s broader effort to dismiss the 40-count indictment accusing him of willful retention of classified records and efforts to obstruct the federal government’s retrieval.
Experts arguing in favor of and against Trump’s position include South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman; attorney Gene Schaerr, a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia representing ex-Bush and Reagan administration U.S. Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Edwin Meese; and Matthew Seligman, an attorney representing an anti-Trump coalition of constitutional attorneys and former ranking government officials.
Cannon previously allowed the experts to file amicus or “friend of the court” briefs for and against Trump’s motions to dismiss. In May, she allowed nonparties to the case to request access to participate in oral argument at the hearing so long as they made requests by Monday.
Blackman will represent Landmark Legal Foundation and law professor Seth Barrett Tillman to argue Smith is not an “officer of the United States” but rather an “employee” whose “appointment is inconsistent with the separation of powers and political accountability.”
Schaerr will provide the argument that the special counsel is a “principal officer” whose appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland should require a Senate confirmation.
“Smith does not have authority to prosecute this case,” according to a brief submitted by a coalition of law professors and the group Citizens United, on which Schaerr will be basing his argument. “Those actions can be taken only by persons properly appointed as federal officers to properly created federal offices.”
Finally, Seligman will be the one dissenting voice arguing in favor of Smith, contending his “appointment Congress may vest in the Attorney General,” and who still answers to, and may be removed by, Garland despite his independent role. Several prominent legal minds are behind this argument, including Watergate-era prosecutor Philip Lacovara, Harvard Law School professor emeritus Laurence Tribe, and lawyer and Trump critic George Conway, among others.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/3028688/trump-florida-judge-legality-special-counsel/
