By BETHANY BLANKLEY
Multiple state attorneys general, including Alaska’s Attorney General Treg Taylor, have requested the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm a federal court dismissal of an indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against President-elect Donald Trump.
Florida led a multi-state brief; Texas filed its own.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 appointed Smith to serve as “special counsel” for the U.S. Department of Justice. Garland also gave him “the full power and independent authority to exercise [the] functions of any United States Attorney” to investigate and prosecute Trump, the AGs note.
In one case, Smith charged Trump with mishandling classified documents in Florida, which a federal district judge dismissed. Smith appealed the case, which is before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The attorneys general argue Garland’s and Smith’s actions were illegal.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody led a multistate coalition urging the 11th Circuit to affirm the dismissal of Smith’s indictment, arguing his actions “are invalid due to regulations that violate Article II of the U.S. Constitution.”
Smith used his authority “to take the unprecedented step of indicting a former President and the principal political rival of the current ruling regime,” their brief states. “But unlike a U.S. Attorney, Smith faces next-to-zero presidential accountability. He was not appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Nor is he subject to the plenary supervision of an official who was.” The coalition points out that “Congress has neither authorized nor funded the Attorney General’s unilateral consolidation of such power in a single unaccountable official.”
Moody said the coalition’s action was necessary even after the case was dismissed because of “the Biden-Harris machine’s persistent attempts to prosecute their political rival” and to ensure “that those responsible remain democratically accountable to the states’ citizens and in checking unprecedented abuses of executive power.”
The court should dismiss the indictment, they argue, because “Smith acted under regulations that authorize the exercise of core executive power unguided by the plenary control of the President or any principal officer accountable to him. Because those regulations violate Article II of the Constitution, Smith’s actions under them are invalid.”
They also took aim at Garland saying he appointed Smith in order “to remove responsibility – and thus political accountability – for the investigations and prosecutions under his purview from the current Administration. The Attorney General appointed Special Counsel Smith after President Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 election because the Attorney General considered it ‘in the public interest’ for someone ‘independent’ of the Administration to head these criminal proceedings.
“The result: A single executive officer now unilaterally resolves massively consequential, politically fraught issues like whether to indict a former president and current presidential candidate and what position the United States will take as to whether and to what extent a President enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution. Article II does not give the Attorney General the authority to vest the executive power in Jack Smith … The district court’s dismissal of the indictment should be affirmed.”
Joining Moody are the attorneys general representing Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a separate amicus brief also arguing Smith “was illegally appointed” by Garland.
The brief argues the case directly implicates “states’ fundamental interest in preventing unlawful federal action because the U.S. Department of Justice claims that the U.S. Attorney General – acting without any statutory guidance from Congress – may empower a private individual to spend tens of millions of dollars to enforce federal criminal laws. This is a question that directly impacts the States and every citizen in them.”
Wow…brave….nothing like waiting until after he wins and you might be able to curry some favor.
Hey Greg – WHY DON’T YOU FILE CHARGES AGAINST OUR CORRUPT ELECTION OFFICIALS IN ALASKA AND DEMAND A FORENSIC AUDIT OF THIS “ELECTION”?
That’s not my job.
I would bet meme meant Treg. You are not really important. Notice this all started out of florida.
I couldn’t agree more.
It is miraculous that after the win, the economy is great and the election wasn’t rigged. It’s a miracle!
What economy? The economy is crap. Who is saying it is great?
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And, the election was still rigged, but after the 2020 and 2022 demonstrations, people know what to look for. Cheating got harder because the average person has woken up to the fraud.
Meme
Or what about the grand jury, and the current landscape of corrupt judges in our state?!
Seconded!
Clearly meme you don’t understand what o Biden’s boys did. You need to do your homework. They are crooked as hell.
Clearly, I totally understand what “Biden” did – you obviously don’t understand what I was saying in Treg suddenly joining the parade. I am sick of these weak people getting on board after they see everyone else is already on it.
And the obama wanted garland to be Supreme Court Justice??? This clown is seriously dangerous.
This current admin has operated out of a lawlessness mode…which brings us closer to a Biblical end times state.
Not a single one of these so-called charges carried any real weight. Whenever a prosecutor uses a “novel” application of a law to prosecute, they do not actually have a case. They have an agenda.
It is the just thing to do.
While Jack Smith still has a chance to run and hide somewhere overseas, he should first bring a federal charges against Joe Biden for stealing presidential documents. Biden was only VP when he took unauthorized documents. That would be a real case. Check under the tailpipe of the green Corvette. It maybe they were downloaded
to Hunter’s laptop.
And with a white substance on them
Now Trump says he will declare a national emergency and deport all the illegal immigrants using the military. He’s gone mad I tell you. More and more everyday, he reminds me of Hitler. Hitler deported, the jews to internment camps. Trump is going to do it to people just looking for a better way of life. Yes, they broke the law coming here, but for some, there was no other option. If you want to go after the bad guys and the terrorists that snuck in fine, do that. What about the states that tell him to go screw himself? What about the people that try to provide sanctuary? What is he going to do to those Americans? Diary of anne Frank anyone. All this will do is further destabilize the country. I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere near him or his cabinet picks after January 20th.
When did Trump say he will declare a national emergency? I do not see anywhere where he says any such thing. Now, someone on Truth social said it, and Trump responded positively, but where exactly does Trump say he will do it?
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Or is this just another situation where the headlines lead directly to pearl clutching and panic on the part of leftists?
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And, seriously, Hitler comparisons? You are better than that.
It was a campaign promise and Trump said in fact, agreed that he would do it. RememberHe said he would be a dictator on day one. But don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
Context matters, especially on the dictator on day one comment.
Well, he said that too. Just ask him. He will proudly say yes he did. Did you ever find a link or something about the national emergency thing? I can help you out if needed. You’ve gone silent. You ok?
I did get plenty of links to the National Emergency thing. And, because I have no problem whatsoever with Trump declaring the invasion of military age men from countries that want to destroy the US a national emergency, I do not see any reason to beat it to death.
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And, context matters. When did he say he was going to be a dictator on day one, who did he say it to, and what exact words did he say? That is called context, and it destroys your claim against the man.
Maybe we should encompass your house with 100000 of the 20 million illegals and tell the Illegals who are being detained for murdering and raping American Families Daughters to stay the night at your house or Garage until we get it all resolved. Is it ok? Please allow us the comfort of letting us know so I can pay for the buses to begin arriving. Sounds Good Forker
Dang c b, it’s all over the news
Now, oftentimes he opens up his big, fat mouth, and in search his foot, but when asked about it, he said yes, he would.What more proof do you need.
First he opens up his big, fat mouth and sees what the crowd’s reaction is. Then if he thinks he got away with it, he’ll do the hostile takeover of all the key departments in the country, including the justice department, then he declares a national emergency, but only after he’s fired. Key 3 and 4 star generals. Because he can’t do anything without the support of the military. So he has to get them on his side, and after a spell of national
Emergency, it escalates into martial law.
If that don’t sound like hitler, nothing does.
Why in the world would the President of the Executive Branch of the US Federal Government have to have a hostile take over of the Departments he is in charge of? He already runs them.
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I sometimes wonder if you are even interested in trying any more.
I used the terminology of a hostile takeover based on the fact that he’s appointing radical occupants and also he’s hinting that he’s gonna go around the senate for confirmation approval and force them to
Adjourn so that he can appoint them himself and approve them himself. That sounds like a hostile takeover to me. Certainly not your typical way of doing things.
How, exactly will Trump force the Senate to adjourn?
You seem to think Trump has some kind of godlike ability to control people. i just do not see it. And, even if the Senate Majority Leader plays along initially, the desire to remain majority leader will outweigh any loyalty to Trump rather quickly. Or do you actually think every Republican will just rubber stamp everything Trump wants?
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it is a bit of… no… it is a MASSIVE unsupportable stretch to think Trump will get away with anything you think he will try to pull. There are too many people at every level that will prevent it.
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Get real. Stop assuming everything you see dissing Trump is going to pan out. It will not. And, most importantly, stop thinking Trump boasting and exaggerating is indicative of any actual future plans.
Mistakenly, i take the man at his word. The case in the past went to the Supreme Court. They said only congress can decide when they are in session. The president lost. One thing is for certain….neither you nor I know how this plays out.
Your Political Narrative sounds straight out of The DEEP STATE Radicalism which ruined this Great Nation. Your opinion ties directly into Pre Kennedy Assassinations era and I’m greatful that Trump and Gaetz is Firing all there asses! The State of Alaskas budget for 2024 at 17 Billion amounted to roughly 246 million per Alaskan in services? Need to clean house!
But getting back to the hostel takeover, you can see why he would want a hostile takeover of the military because after J6, the joint chief said they wouldn’t follow an order from him unless it was legal. So he wants somebody to blindly follow his orders, legal or not. That’s why he wants Matt in there. And although it’s been reported that he’s participated in at least 10 orgies and ran trains on many underage girls. That’s right up, Trump’s alley. Unless you forget, he likes to grab young girls by the huha.
“… the joint chief said they wouldn’t follow an order from him unless it was legal. ”
They better have said that before January 6th.
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No military member is obligated to follow any illegal order. End of story.
Very true. They took access to the football away for the deranged man in the final weeks.
The final weeks after Pelosi’s false flag operation paid off?
Yeah… I remember that.
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And, I also think it was the most meaningless action ever taken by anyone in any administration ever. Even if Trump wanted to use the nukes, he would not be able to. But, I know you know that. Still does not stop your wild ranting on MRAK about how horrible you think the man is. Do you actually yell at your screen in a rage while you are writing these comments? I can imagine you do.
There needs to be an investigation as to the DOJ’s involvement in coordinating a state and federal prosecution of Trump from the White House, the unprecedented raiding of the home of a former president, the illegal appointment of a ‘special counsel’ with unlimited funding & jurisdiction so as to avoid accountability. If this can be done to Trump, it can be done to democrats. It seems ironic that while democrats claim to be so protective of ‘democracy’, they are the ones who censor freely, initiate lawfare to ruin people and their reputations, issue ‘mandates’ restricting freedoms and so on.
The last time I was a Democrat was when President Kennedy was alive. Since then The DEEP STATE plays there puppet games all the while creating the turmoil while sitting back and making money on both sides. That way people like Greg Forkner who apparently needs to go to Guantanamo Bay and sit with The 20 Million and think about running his Big Fat mouth. Greg Forkner is the rip in our Moral Fiber and Is the opitimy of Un American