Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump's classified documents case

WASHINGTON -- Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors' appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of the Republican's presidential victory.

Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the classified documents and the federal 2020 election interference case in Washington before Trump takes office because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

The case accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate had been seen as the most legally clear-cut of the four indictments against Trump, given the breadth of evidence that prosecutors say they had accumulated. That included the testimony of close aides and former lawyers, and because the conduct at issue occurred after Trump left the White House in 2021 and lost the powers of the presidency.

But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith had appealed her ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before Trump's presidential win last week over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Prosecutors asked the 11th Circuit in a court filing Wednesday to pause the appeal to “afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith's team said it would “inform the Court of the result of its deliberations” no later than Dec. 2.

The judge overseeing the federal case in Washington accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election canceled all upcoming deadlines in the case last week after Smith's team made a similar request.

Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that historically are made public, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.

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Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.