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Several celebrities were mentioned in an amicus curiae brief filed in support of President Donald Trump's motion to dismiss the classified documents indictment against him.
Trump faces 40 felony counts in Florida that accuse him of willfully retaining dozens of classified documents after he left the White House and rebuffing government demands to give them back. He has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the case.
The amicus curiae brief was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday on behalf of Edwin Meese, who served as President Ronald Reagan's attorney general, law professors Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson and the conservative nonprofit Citizens United.
The brief argued that special counsel Jack Smith does not have the authority to prosecute the case.
"Smith is the classic 'emperor with no clothes.' He has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Tom Brady, Lionel Messi, or Kanye West," the brief's conclusion says.
"The Court should grant the Motion to Dismiss on the Appointments Clause issue, and do so prior to ruling on the other Motions to Dismiss pending in this case."
An earlier version of the brief, reviewed by Newsweek, had listed Kim Kardashian, Patrick Mahomes and Mick Jagger in the conclusion.
Newsweek reached out to the attorneys who filed the brief and a Trump spokesperson for comment via email. The special counsel's office declined to comment.
The brief argues that Smith's appointment as special counsel violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution and is a "potential fatal flaw" in the prosecution.
"The way to appoint a Special Counsel consistent with the Appointments Clause is to follow the normal practice of the past quarter-century, conferring that status upon a person already serving as a U.S. Attorney, which adds a new matter to the portfolio of a Senate-confirmed principal officer," it says.
"But the Attorney General cannot appoint a private citizen or government employee, who was never confirmed by the Senate, as a substitute United States Attorney under the title 'Special Counsel,' as happened here. That appointment was unlawful, as are all the legal actions that have flowed from it, including Smith's prosecution of President Trump."
The implications are "nothing short of historic, and it is imperative that no former President of this Nation—especially one who is the presumptive opposition-party candidate to become President once again—go to trial and risk conviction of a crime if his prosecutor is not even authorized to speak for the United States," it adds.
The filing comes after federal prosecutors pressed Cannon on Friday to schedule a trial for this summer in the classified documents case, one of four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial on May 20, but Cannon has signaled that she plans to reconsider that date. Trump's lawyers contend there is no way to hold a fair trial this year when Trump is moving towards clinching the Republican presidential nomination.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds a separate federal case in Washington—also brought by Smith—that charges Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in late April on whether Trump is immune from prosecution in that case.
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About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more