Trump challenges legality of Jack Smith's special counsel appointment

In the ongoing legal battles involving Donald Trump, questions about the constitutionality of special counsel Jack Smith's appointment have surfaced. Trump’s legal team, deciding to contest Smith's authority, claims he was appointed without required Senate approval, supposedly violating the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon supported this view in July, stating that appointing a special counsel outside of a sitting U.S. attorney needs Senate confirmation. This ruling raises significant implications for how politically sensitive investigations will be conducted and scrutinized in the future. The case's complexity continues to evolve with ongoing appeals from Trump's co-defendants, and it highlights the extensive costs associated with the various legal inquiries against Trump over the past several years.