From left: Special Counsel Jack Smith, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon and former President Donald Trump. (@axios / X screen shot)
Judge Aileen Cannon early Monday held a hearing on the constitutionality of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment.
Judge Cannon grilled Jack Smith’s prosecutor James Pearce over funding for the special counsel, oversight of the team, and whether Jack Smith is a superior or inferior officer.
The Justice Department claims Jack Smith is an inferior officer who answers to US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The special counsel has not released a financial report since September 2023 which is a violation of the 6-month reporting requirement, investigative reporter Julie Kelly said.
Jack Smith’s team of angry Democrat prosecutors is much larger than Robert Mueller’s team – and there is virtually no oversight.
Judge Cannon grilled Jack Smith’s prosecutor over the limitless funding of the special counsel’s operation.
Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove argued that Jack Smith’s operation requires “interaction between Congress” but it is “nonexistent.”
“There is no oversight by Congress for the extraordinary and unprecedented things that are happening in this case,” Emil Bove said, according to Julie Kelly who was in the Fort Pierce courtroom on Monday.
“When it’s limitless, I think there is a separation of powers concern,” Cannon said to James Pearce.
From FLA courthouse: Debate over constitutionality of Jack Smith’s appointment just concluded after a full day Friday and this morning.
A weedy discussion about which statutory/regulatory authority permits Smith’s appointment. Judge Cannon again pressed both sides to make their…
— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) June 24, 2024
ABC News reported:
Defense lawyer Emil Bove argued Monday that the funding of the special counsel’s office was unconstitutional because it relies on a “permanent indefinite appropriation” that is outside of the normal budget process.
“Is there any cap to the funding?” Judge Cannon asked.
“No, and I think that is part of the reason … to be very wary of who can access it and why,” Bove said. “There is no check on the scope of what’s going on here.”
As Bove hammered at the constitutionality of the special counsel’s office, Smith himself sat just feet away in the courtroom, occasionally jotting down notes during the argument. Smith did not attend Friday’s hearing.
While Cannon appeared skeptical of Bove’s argument at times — including accusing him of doing a “flip flop” on his position about the independence of the special counsel’s office — she pressed assistant special counsel James Pearce about the office’s budget.
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