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President Joe Biden gave Special Counsel Jack Smith a "blank check" to go after Donald Trump, the former president's legal team has alleged.
They also claim that Smith has been used as a "surrogate" by Biden in his reelection campaign.
Trump's lawyers are objecting to Smith's prosecution of Trump for allegedly hoarding classified documents in Florida.
They submitted their objection to Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case.
Their motion claims that the Department of Justice's funding of Smith is a violation of the Appropriations Clause, which stipulates how Congress should spend public funds.
Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Chris Kise alleged in Tuesday's filing that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland "unleashed Smith as a Biden campaign surrogate to try to harm President Trump's campaign by any means necessary."
"It is unlikely, at best, that there is any source of funding at DOJ [Department of Justice] that could have funded the sprawling, politically-motivated activities that Smith has undertaken as if President Biden handed him a blank check," they state.
They claim that the unlimited funding of Smith is in contrast to the budget limitations in other parts of the Department of Justice.
"As we have noted, and as with any government agency, the realities of bureaucratic resource limitations have constrained DOJ's work in the past," he said.
The former president is facing 40 federal charges over his handling of sensitive materials retrieved from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in January 2021. He is accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to return them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Newsweek has contacted Trump's attorney via email for comment on Wednesday.
In addition to the Florida case, Smith is also prosecuting Trump on four counts of allegedly working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The election interference case has been frozen while the Supreme Court considers Trump's claim that he has presidential immunity from prosecution.
Judge Cannon had asked prosecutors and Trump's legal team to make submissions to her about the legal implications of a new Supreme Court decision that could have a major effect on Trump's claim that the Department of Justice has no right to fund Smith.
In the May 16, 2024, decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, the Supreme Court ruled that the appropriations clause of the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to mandate that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be financed by the earnings of the Federal Reserve. That appears to give a wide interpretation of the Appropriations Clause.
In a writing direction, Cannon, a Trump appointee, stated that she wants the briefs "in anticipation of the June 21, 2024, hearing on Defendant Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment based on the unlawful appointment and funding of special counsel Jack Smith."
She wrote that both sides must file briefs by June 11 on what effect the Supreme Court decision will have on "Defendant Trump's appropriations clause challenge."
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more