Special Counsel Jack Smith’s recent court filing could bolster Donald Trump’s ability to get federal charges against him dismissed if elected president again in 2024.
Smith argued he is subordinate to the Attorney General, who can remove or overrule him.
This agrees with prior analyses that Trump could appoint a favorable AG to drop the charges related to classified documents and January 6th.
Smith was responding to arguments that his appointment was illegal.
He asserted being an “inferior officer” under the Constitution, subject to AG supervision and oversight.
“An inferior officer is one who reports to and is supervised by a superior officer,” Smith’s briefing states.
“The Special Counsel is an ‘inferior Officer’ under the Special Counsel regulation because the Attorney General supervises the Special Counsel’s work, may remove him from office, and may review and countermand his decisions.”
“And, as an additional means of exercising control, the Attorney General can rescind the regulation at any time, or amend the appointment order, and exercise direct statutory supervision over the Special Counsel,” Smith added.
“The Special Counsel is subject to the Attorney General’s supervision and oversight. The Special Counsel’s work is overseen by the Attorney General, who appointed him and delegated to him powers that are otherwise vested in the Attorney General alone,” he added.
Former prosecutor Preet Bharara had also previously suggested Trump’s most likely path to dismissal would be via a new, favorable AG if the trials were not concluded before a potential next term.
The filing supports Trump’s position that he could dismiss charges through a new AG rather than relying on self-pardon claims.