Judge Hears Trump’s Argument To Dismiss Jack Smith

President Donald Trump’s classified documents case is back in Judge Aileen Cannon’s Florida courtroom today as lawyers debate whether Special Counsel Jack Smith was “unlawfully appointed” as a prosecutor. Trump’s legal team is arguing that Smith should be dismissed.

Trump’s hearing today concerns the process of appointing Special Counsels. Friday was the first day of the hearing, and legal experts weighed in on the issue. Today lawyers from Trump’s team and the government will examine Smith’s appointment.

Judge Cannon’s decision to hold a hearing on this issue ushers in a new era for the justice system. We’ve never gotten this far in discussing the constitutionality of Special Counsels before. Courts have never really had an interest in it. We used to have an office for Independent Counsels, of which Kenneth Starr was a part as well, but it was shut down.

If a U.S. attorney were handling Trump’s classified documents case, today’s hearing wouldn’t be happening. However, Smith was appointed as Special Counsel under federal regulations establishing the procedure for doing so – bureaucratic regulation, not congressionally passed law. And that’s the rub here. The statutory authority to appoint someone like Smith is murky at best.

A Special Counsel must be an independent figure that the U.S. government brings in to aid in an investigation. Trump’s legal team is questioning whether a Special Counsel is deemed a principal officer of the United States, meaning they must be nominated first by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Smith was neither nominated by President Biden nor confirmed by the Senate. He received the job after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him, but Smith didn’t work for the DOJ at the time. I believe this will be the point of emphasis today in the hearing.

We will keep you updated on further developments and how the fallout will affect the 2024 presidential election. Will the issue of Special Counsels crop up in the presidential debate on Thursday? It could be too heady a topic of discussion for the general public.

Also, today is the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. I will never forget this day – a day I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. At that moment, the Supreme Court became more politicized as protests broke out across the country, and radicals started making death threats against Justices. It was a watershed moment for the pro-life movement that’s been in effect since before I was born.

If you remember, the news leaked before the ruling came down that the Justices would overturn Roe. This outrageous leak worked up the far Left and the abortion industry into a frenzy. On the pro-life side, we wanted to believe it was true, but we weren’t going to take anything for granted until we had the actual ruling from the Supreme Court.

The far Left then took this leak to launch a massive pro-abortion campaign in red states to spread their anti-life propaganda. Unfortunately, that’s why we’ve seen so many red states vote against pro-life legislation and amendments to their state constitutions. The pro-life movement must do a better job of explaining why the abortion distortion is a lie that kills babies.

The ACLJ is declaring this week Life Week to celebrate this monumental milestone in the fight for life. The ACLJ stands at the forefront to fight the far Left’s lies to justify killing the unborn. We have at least five active cases in court to fight abortion. For example, we are just about to file a vital brief at the U.S. Supreme Court to defund Planned Parenthood. (Sign our petition to join our fight against Planned Parenthood.) We are also actively defending the valuable work of Pregnancy Resource Centers, which are under constant attack by the Left.

However, the ACLJ can’t fight the abortion industry alone. Pro-life organizations all across the country must spend more money to educate the American public on the horrors of abortion and why every life is a gift from God and has dignity and purpose. Countless lives are on the line.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of Trump’s hearing to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith, as well as a reflection on the historic Dobbs decision. ACLJ Senior Counsel for International and Government Affairs Jeff Ballabon joined us to discuss the U.S. asking Israelis trying to immigrate to our country if they’ve committed war crimes.

Watch the full broadcast below: