Special prosecutor Jack Smith on Wednesday appealed a federal judge's decision to throw out former President Donald Trump's Florida trial on charges of withholding classified documents after he left the White House.
• Read also: Judge throws out action against Donald Trump over handling of classified documents
The appeal was filed on Wednesday in Atlanta, in the south of the country, according to an official document seen by Agence France-Presse.
Donald Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House, on Monday won another legal victory when Judge Ellen Cannon threw out proceedings against him in Florida, deeming the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is investigating the case, illegal.
Donald Trump is accused in this case of endangering national security by keeping classified documents, including military plans or information about nuclear weapons, at home after his presidency ended, instead of turning them over to the archives as required by law.
He was also charged with attempting to destroy evidence in the case. The most severe charges carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The decision by the judge, who was appointed by Donald Trump during his term, was welcomed by the former president, who called for the three other criminal proceedings against him to be dropped.
Without ruling on the merits of the case, the judge ruled that the appointment and funding of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, violated the Constitution’s provisions on Congress’s role in appointments and expenditures.
Judge Cannon relied in particular on the position expressed by conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the nation's highest court's unprecedented July 1 ruling recognizing broad criminal immunity for the president of the United States.
Another decisive victory for Trump, who is doing everything he can to bring him to trial as soon as possible, at least after the November elections that will pit him against incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden.
Justice Clarence Thomas, in a separate concurring opinion, had challenged the legality of Mr. Smith’s appointment in another case, the federal action against Donald Trump for his attempts to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election.
