Special counsel Jack Smith stands down in Trump classified docs case, asks court to halt appeal

Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appellate court on Wednesday to halt his appeal in President-elect Donald Trump’s classified documents case, citing the results of the 2024 election.“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, one of the defendants in this case, Donald J.Trump, is expected to be certified as President-elect on January 6, 2025, and inaugurated on January 20, 2025,” Smith wrote to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.“The Government respectfully requests that the Court hold this appeal in abeyance — and stay the deadline for the Government’s reply brief, which is currently due on November 15, 2024 — until December 2, 2024, to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy,” the federal prosecutor added.The classified documents case was dismissed in July by Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, and Smith had sought to appeal her ruling.This is a developing story.

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