Liberal news outlets are awash with false stories about how U.S. District Judge Erin Cannon of the Southern District of Florida needlessly delayed former President Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly mishandling classified documents. But in fact, the Biden administration and its Attorney General Merrick Garland are themselves responsible for the current delays. Special counsel Jack Smith describes himself as a lower-level U.S. official, but in fact he holds no such position. Smith is a Justice Department employee and does not have the authority to bring charges. Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission585 US__ (2018) holds that only U.S. officials can take actions that affect the life, liberty, and property of citizens.
Judge Cannon has requested oral argument for June 21, 2024, on former President Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment, arguing that Smith’s appointment to his current position was unconstitutional because he was not a subordinate officials.Washington, D.C.’s superlawyer Gene Schaerr has been United States v. Trump Representing former Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey, along with Professor Gary Lawson and I, arguing for the appointment of Jack Smith (Jack Smith) is unconstitutional for a lower officer, Judge Cannon has asked Gene Schaerr to participate in oral argument, which he has agreed to do.
The appointment clause of Article 2, paragraph 2, states: “Congress may, by law, solely vest in the President, in the courts, or in the heads of departments the power to appoint such subordinate officers as it deems appropriate.Jack Smith claimed to be a junior official appointed by the U.S. Attorney General, but in fact he was just an employee.
In our amicus brief, we noted Congress has never passed a law giving the attorney general, as department head, the power to appoint junior officials This is despite Congress explicitly granting this authority to the heads of the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Agriculture. The only power Congress has given the attorney general is to appoint a sitting U.S. attorney as a special prosecutor with authority to prosecute cases nationwide and beyond his or her district. Therefore, the appointment of U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss of the District of Delaware, who currently has nationwide jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Hunter Biden as special counsel, is fully constitutional . Likewise, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, was fully legally granted nationwide jurisdiction to prosecute former Vice President Dick Cheney in Washington, D.C. Chief of Staff Scooter Libby, whom Fitzgerald convicted and sentenced to prison.
However, when Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as the special counsel to investigate and prosecute Donald Trump, Jack Smith was a private citizen, not a current U.S. Attorney. Therefore, Smith’s appointment as a junior official was unconstitutional and the cases Smith filed against former President Donald Trump in Florida and Washington, D.C., must be dismissed.Again, Congress has never The law gives the attorney general the power to appoint junior officials
The 92 prosecutors in the United States are all senior officials who must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This requirement for Senate confirmation of United States Attorneys has been part of our law since the Judiciary Act of 1789, 235 years ago. It is mind-boggling, to say the least, that Congress would ask the Senate to approve the Wyoming prosecutor but not the special prosecutor who is prosecuting a former and possible future president in Florida and Washington, D.C.
Senators deliberately decided not to give the attorney general the power to appoint lower-level officials with authority to prosecute because they wanted a say in the confirmation process over who could prosecute cases in the state. If the attorney general has the power to appoint prosecutors without Senate confirmation, think of what he might do with that power in corrupt areas like Cook County, Illinois, or New Orleans, Louisiana. No wonder the Senate gave the heads of four other Cabinet departments the power to appoint junior officials while stripping the attorney general of that power.
Former Attorney General Robert Jackson, speaking at a conference of United States attorneys on December 1, 1940, stated:
“To say that what is gathered in this room is one of the most powerful peacetime forces our country has ever known is probably within the bounds of hyperbole allowed in Washington. Prosecutors have more control over life, liberty and reputation than anyone else. Much. A citizen’s friend, presenting his case to a grand jury in secret, and based on his one-sided presentation of the facts, can result in the citizen being indicted and given a hearing, or if he is convicted, the prosecutor can still make a sentencing recommendation. .While the prosecutor is one of the most benevolent forces in our society at his best, he is one of the worst when he acts out of spite or other despicable motives.***
Because of this immense power against citizens, not just the power of an individual, but the total power of the government itself, the position of federal district attorney has been secured from the outset by a presidential appointment, requiring confirmation by the United States Senate. Therefore, before assuming the responsibilities of a federal prosecutor, you must earn the confidence of your character in both the legislative and executive branches of government.
Thank God Judge Cannon has scheduled oral argument on President Trump’s motion to dismiss Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for abuse of confidentiality by a Department of Justice employee who was not nominated by the president and not confirmed by the Senate file and be prosecuted. The judge should dismiss Smith’s case, and the Eleventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold the dismissals.
If by then Attorney General Garland still wants an investigation into Trump’s alleged misuse of classified documents, as did not occur with former Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then Attorney General Garland should follow the law and ask One of 92 Senate members – confirmed that the U.S. Attorney will conduct any investigation that occurs. Attorney General Garland’s failure to follow the law and the Constitution is a national disgrace. Judge Cannon deserves national applause.
