Document affair
Special investigator wants to revive Trump proceedings
Is the former US president now facing trouble in the document affair after all? Special investigator Jack Smith wants to revive the discontinued criminal proceedings and justified his request in a letter of appeal.
The judge responsible, Aileen Cannon, discontinued the proceedings in mid-July. She justified this with doubts about the lawful appointment of the special investigator. Smith appealed against this - and has now justified his move in a letter of appeal.
Smith: Judge contradicts case law
The letter states that the judge's decision is "contrary to the widespread and long-standing practice" of appointing special investigators. It also contradicts the clear case law according to which the Minister of Justice is authorized to appoint a special investigator. The Court of Appeal must therefore overturn the judge's ruling, Smith demanded. Justice Minister Merrick Garland had appointed the 55-year-old to lead the investigation into this and another case.
Secret documents were in Trump's mansion
Trump was indicted on federal charges in the document affair last year in Miami, Florida. He is accused of unlawfully storing highly sensitive information from his time as president (2017 to 2021).
In August 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched Trump's villa in Florida and seized several sets of documents classified as top secret. Trump is also accused of conspiring to obstruct the investigation: For example, he is alleged to have tried to use associates to make footage from surveillance cameras disappear and to have boxes of documents taken away.
Trial unlikely before election
A successful appeal could lead to the case being reopened. However, even if this is the case, it is considered practically impossible that a trial will take place before the presidential election in November. The judge in charge of the document proceedings, Cannon, was once appointed by Trump. Critics accused her of delaying the proceedings.
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