Justice Department seeks to revive Trump documents case and defends role of special counsel
CNN
Special counsel Jack Smith is arguing to revive his office’s classified documents case against Donald Trump with a vigorous defense of its authority in the first formal filing since Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case last month.
Special counsel Jack Smith is arguing to revive his office’s classified documents case against Donald Trump with a vigorous defense of its authority in the first formal filing since Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal case last month. In a brief filed with the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Monday, Smith argues that Cannon’s decision to end the Trump case because the prosecutors’ office lacked constitutional authority was “novel” and “lack[ed] merit.” Cannon had ruled the Justice Department didn’t have the ability to appoint or fund special counsels like Smith. Smith’s team also cast the decision from Cannon as not just affecting other special counsel prosecutions – of which there are several ongoing in other courts, against Trump and Hunter Biden, among others – but also as potentially affecting the power of leaders across the federal government. “If the Attorney General lacks the power to appoint inferior officers, that conclusion would invalidate the appointment of every member of the Department who exercises significant authority and occupies a continuing office, other than the few that are specifically identified by statute,” Smith’s office wrote in the 81-page filing. “The district court’s rationale would likewise raise questions about hundreds of appointments throughout the Executive Branch, including in the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, and Labor,” the prosecutors added.
From an explosive sit-down with the leader of war-torn Ukraine to an unexpectedly friendly meeting with a Democratic socialist mayor-elect, the Oval Office has hosted some of the most dramatic moments of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office.
Welts, watery eyes, temporary blindness: Zoom in on crowd control tactics used against protesters
Before the stealth bombers streaked through the Middle Eastern night, or the missiles rained down on suspected terrorists in Africa, or commandos snatched a South American president from his bedroom, or the icy slopes of Greenland braced for the threat of invasion, there was an idea at the White House.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday over a Hawaii law that bars people from carrying guns onto private property without the explicit approval of the property owner, a measure intended to reduce guns in retail stores and other businesses open to the public.
An Indiana state court judge and his wife were in stable condition Monday as authorities continued to search for suspects who shot the couple the day before at their Lafayette home.
A giant reproduction of a birthday message bearing Donald Trump’s name that was included in a collection of letters gifted to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein decades ago has been erected on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
Flying home this month from an extended Christmas vacation in Palm Beach, President Donald Trump was momentarily taken aback when a reporter asked him about the ice-covered island he’s openly trying to annex.
A military recruiter in Minnesota, pointing to fears over the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis, promoted joining the National Guard to high school students highlighting a program that can offer the immediate family of service members some protection against deportation.
More than two weeks after the stunning US raid on Caracas that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the political confrontation over the future of Venezuela is rapidly coalescing around two leaders, both women, who represent different visions for their country: the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who stands for continuity, and opposition leader María Corina Machado, who seeks the restoration of democracy.
President Donald Trump is one day away from the one-year mark of his second term. Over the past week, CNN has rolled out a series of poll findings on where Americans stand on his performance so far.
Democrats are kicking off the process of setting their 2028 presidential primary calendar this month, after 12 states submitted applications to lead the process.
Would Zohran Mamdani compromise?
Few Americans are satisfied with the amount of evidence released in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with most saying they believe the government is intentionally holding back information.