WASHINGTON: A U.S. circuit court on Thursday released a timeline for an appeal of a federal judge's dismissal of a criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump of mishandling top-secret documents.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' standard timetable makes a resolution of the case unlikely before the November election, in which Trump is the Republican presidential nominee.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges against Trump, filed an appeal to the 11th Circuit on July 17 against U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon's surprise dismissal of the case against the former president.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the documents case earlier this month on the grounds that Smith was illegally appointed, usurping the role of Congress.
The 11th Circuit asked Smith to file his opening brief in the case by Aug. 27 and gave Trump’s lawyers 30 days to respond. Smith then has 21 days to file a response to Trump’s brief.
If the Circuit Court revives the case against Trump, the former president could potentially appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump faces multiple criminal charges in his bid to regain the White House. In May, he was convicted in New York of falsifying business records to cover up payments to a porn star.
Smith was appointed as special counsel in 2022 by President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland.
He was tasked with overseeing investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving office and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Cannon's ruling followed a Supreme Court opinion holding that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution for their official acts.
That decision has helped Trump in his attempt to delay the trials he faces until after the Nov. 5 vote.
These include charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.
