Jack Smith’s special counsel has withdrawn the appeal the case of classified documents against the defendants of President-elect Donald Trump and sent the case to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, according to the court’s filing on Monday evening.
Smith last month he canceled the appeal Against Trump, his team continued to pursue its appeal against the two defendants in Trump’s case, longtime Trump aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De, due to Justice Department policy barring him from prosecuting the longtime president. Oliveira.
Trump He pleaded not guilty Up to 37 criminal charges related to the handling of classified material in June 2023, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to turn over hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from US nuclear secrets to national defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to obtain them. documents back
The former president, along with Nauta and De Oliveira, as well He pleaded not guilty In a superseding indictment for trying to delete surveillance footage from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Smith’s appeal, to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, came after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. He dismissed Smith’s case in July, citing the constitutionality of the appointment as special counsel.
President-elect Donald Trump attends Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona on December 22, 2024.
Cheney Page/Reuters
With the appeal pending, Smith’s team on Monday withdrew from the case and turned the case over to federal prosecutors in Florida. In a separate filing, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, entered a deposition in the case.
A representative from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Smith has also been rocking his federal election interference case against Trump, following Trump’s re-election, and is expected to issue a report on his investigations in the coming weeks to Attorney General Merrick Garland, before he steps down as special counsel.
