US Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to revive the criminal case accusing Donald Trump of retaining classified documents, after a lower court dismissed the indictment in July, according to a court filing.
In their brief, Mr Smith and his team of attorneys urged the Atlanta-based US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to overturn the 15 July ruling by US District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, in which she concluded that Mr Smith was unlawfully appointed and did not have the legal authority to bring the case.
"Congress has bestowed on the Attorney General, like the heads of many Executive Departments, broad authority to structure the agency he leads to carry out the responsibilities imposed on him by law," they wrote.
"The district court's contrary view conflicts with an otherwise unbroken course of decisions, including by the Supreme Court, that the Attorney General has such authority, and it is at odds with widespread and longstanding appointment practices in the Department of Justice and across the government."
The Justice Department had previously said it planned to appeal the ruling.
Judge Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Mr Trump, found that Attorney General Merrick Garland's decision to appoint Mr Smith in 2022 violated the US Constitution.
She also found that his budget, which is funded through an indefinite appropriation, was unlawful.
