Donald Trump’s legal team is throwing a Hail Mary to try to get Special Counsel Jack Smith removed.
His legal team has filed a motion arguing that Smith’s appointment is unconstitutional in the hopes of having his case tossed.
Trump further stated that if the cases are not tossed, he would fire Smith as soon as he takes office.
Won’t Work
The motion to have Smith removed from the case will likely fail.
Trump’s legal team is arguing since Smith was not appointed by Congress, his appointment is illegal.
However, dating back to the 1970s, 28 CFR § 600.1 has been used as the standard for how an attorney general can appoint a special counsel, and this would include the appointment of John Durham by Bill Barr when Trump was president.
Trump’s attorneys claim the Constitution’s Appointments and Appropriations Clauses make it clear that Smith’s appointment is illegal.
That rule states, “Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, although Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”
I just don’t see this argument working.
As far as Trump firing Smith after he takes off, that would open up a can of worms that should not be opened.
First, Donald Trump, even as president, cannot fire Smith because Smith was not a presidential appointment. The president does not have the authority to remove a special counsel appointed by an attorney general.
Now, Trump’s attorney general could fire Smith, but that is where the problems really start.
Let’s say whoever Trump appoints immediately fires Smith, then orders the charges against Trump to be dismissed.
Democrats would immediately move to impeach Trump for abuse of power. Even if they were unsuccessful, doing this would prove that Dems were right… that the only reason Trump ran for office was to get out of all his legal problems.
This would bury the Republican Party in mid-term elections, and more than likely hand the White House back to Democrats in 2028.
Someone has to get into Trump’s ear on this and make him understand the big picture. If he starts making moves to have these cases tossed, the conservative movement in this country will be dead.
Not only that, with how Democrats will play this out, our streets will also be on fire.
So, whether Trump likes it or not, he really just needs to ride this out and see how it plays out, or all he does is hand Democrats a truckload of ammunition to use against Republicans in 2026 and 2028.
