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Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that, if elected to a second term in November, he would immediately fire special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought two federal indictments against him.
Hours later, his attorneys informed the judge overseeing one of those cases that they want to challenge the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment.
On Thursday morning, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump whether he plans to pardon himself or fire Smith on the day he would take the oath of office.
“It’s so easy — I would fire him within two seconds,” said Trump, who added that he got “immunity at the Supreme Court” and called Smith a “crooked person.”
Trump also said he does not think Democrats, if they retake the House majority, would impeach him if he fires Smith from the Justice Department.
Smith’s office declined to comment on Trump’s remarks. Firing him as special counsel could end the federal government’s prosecution. While Smith has appealed the ruling in Florida dismissing the classified documents case against Trump, the special counsel is still pursuing the election interference case against him in Washington, D.C.
Trump’s legal team asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Thursday for permission to file a new motion, in which he would argue that his election case should be dismissed on the same grounds as the Florida one. If Chutkan allows him to file the motion, Trump’s team would argue that Smith’s appointment and funding were illegal.
“The proposed motion establishes that this unjust case was dead on arrival — unconstitutional even before its inception,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
They asked for permission to make their filing because they’re in a dispute with Chutkan over whether new motions to dismiss the case can be filed. Chutkan’s original deadline for such motions has already passed, but Trump’s lawyers say they should be allowed to file new ones because of Smith’s superseding indictment in August.
If Chutkan agrees that the motion can be filed, Trump’s lawyers would encounter obstacles they did not have in Florida. Unlike in Florida, the Washington, D.C., Circuit has a binding precedent upholding the legality of special counsels. The precedent prevents Chutkan from granting Trump’s motion if she allowed his team to make the initial filing.
Trump has delayed court proceedings in the election interference case because of his claims of presidential immunity, which the Supreme Court ultimately ruled on in July, so a trial has not been set.
Chutkan allowed the release of hundreds of pages of heavily redacted documents last week that included evidence Smith was using for the prosecution.
In response, Trump called Chutkan “the most evil person” and Smith “a sick puppy” and characterized the release as “election interference.” He has disparaged them both numerous times, which led Chutkan to issue a gag order prohibiting Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or the federal prosecutors who charged him.
Last year, Trump warned that Smith and other Justice Department officials would wind up in a mental institution if he is re-elected.
In an effort to pre-empt any moves by Trump if he returns to the White House, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a fierce Trump critic, introduced legislation last month with Democratic co-sponsors that would prevent a sitting president from dismissing an active criminal prosecution against himself or herself, a measure that will go nowhere in the Republican-run House.
Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington.
Daniel Barnes reports for NBC News, based in Washington.
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