Special counsel asks appeals court to reverse judge’s dismissal of Trump’s classified docs case
(ATLANTA) — Special counsel Jack Smith filed his argument Monday urging the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a federal judge’s surprise dismissal of former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon last month threw out the case against Trump that charged him with unlawfully retaining classified documents taken from his time in the White House and then seeking to obstruct the government’s efforts to retrieve them. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Cannon’s ruling centered around arguments that Smith’s prosecution of Trump was illegitimate because, in her determination, Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to his position as special counsel because he was never confirmed to his post by the U.S. Senate.
Special counsels have typically served previously as U.S. attorneys, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Smith was previously the acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and was working for the International Criminal Court at the Hague prosecuting war crimes when he was tapped by Garland in November 2022 to lead both the classified documents probe and the federal election interference investigation.
Legal experts criticized Cannon’s ruling as running counter to decades of legal precedent set by other judges and appeals courts, which had rejected similar challenges to special counsels or other independently appointed prosecutors dating back to the Watergate scandal.
Cannon had already previously earned criticism in some quarters over her handling of the case as well as a number of unusual decisions seen as beneficial to Trump’s strategy of delaying any trial past the 2024 election.
In their filing Monday, Smith said Cannon’s ruling “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.”
Smith’s filing, which characterized Cannon’s ruling as “strained” and “nonsensical,” cited a quote from Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in which Kavanaugh, recounting his time serving under independent counsel Kenneth Starr, writes about the “deeply rooted tradition of appointing an outside prosecutor to run particular federal investigations.”
Cannon was previously overturned twice by the 11th Circuit prior to Trump’s indictment after she granted his attorney’s request to appoint a special master to review evidence the FBI had seized in its August 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, then ordered the FBI to temporarily pause its investigation.
(WASHINGTON) — In a private meeting with Donald Trump last week, FBI agents and other law enforcement officials offered the former president new, previously undisclosed details about the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who came close to assassinating Trump at a rally last month, sources familiar with the meeting told ABC News.
Over more than 90 minutes on Aug. 1, law enforcement officials described shooter Thomas Crooks as a strikingly intelligent man who scored higher than 1500 on his SAT pre-college exam, but who also may have been struggling for years with an undiagnosed disorder, said the sources, who were briefed on the meeting.
Trump was told that, through interviews with Crooks’ family and others who knew him, investigators learned that throughout high school, Crooks would routinely sway back and forth while standing at the bus stop — but that Crooks never received any sort of formal diagnosis related to it, according to the sources.
Sources said the law enforcement officials also told Trump that they are still unable to say exactly what motivated Crooks to target Trump at the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In the days and weeks before the attack, Crooks searched online for both Democratic and Republican politicians, and it’s possible he chose to target Trump just because he was the next big name to come through Pennsylvania, Trump was told, according to sources.
Led by a senior agent from the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, last week’s meeting was scheduled to be what the FBI previously described as a “standard victim interview” of Trump, but much of it ended up being a briefing on the FBI’s investigation, with Trump asking the law enforcement officials more questions than they asked him, according to the sources.
Beyond questions about Crooks and how he made it onto the roof of a nearby building with an AR-15 style rifle, Trump also wanted to know whether authorities had uncovered any foreign connection to the attack.
The FBI agents told Trump that they were able to access three foreign email accounts used by Crooks because his passwords were stored on his computer, but they have found no indications that anyone else was involved in the attack, according to the sources.
The information gleaned from the foreign email accounts largely related to weapons and ammunition purchases, offering little insight into what drove Crooks to launch his attack, Trump was told, according to sources.
At a press conference on Thursday, Trump confirmed that he spoke with the FBI about Crooks, but he offered no further details about the discussion, saying only that the FBI has “done a very good job.”
The FBI previously disclosed that Crooks appeared to have virtually no friends, with a social circle that was limited to his immediately family. To illustrate Crooks’ high level of intelligence, law enforcement officials told Trump that Crooks could name every U.S. president, from George Washington to the present day, sources said.
According to sources, FBI agents also walked Trump through Crooks’ movements on the day of the attack, with the agents telling Trump that — even though the shooter had paid his father $500 to buy the rifle from him months earlier — Crooks still had to obtain the rifle from his father before he made his way to the rally site.
The FBI has not suggested that the father’s apparent sale of the weapon was in any way unlawful.
When Trump asked the law enforcement officials about claims that Crooks was spotted on the nearby building’s roof long before he first opened fire, and other claims that the Secret Service sniper who ultimately killed Crooks waited 10 minutes to take lethal action, the law enforcement officials made clear that such claims were not accurate, the sources said.
The law enforcement officials explained to Trump that — even though law enforcement was made aware of a suspicious person nearby — the first time anyone in law enforcement saw someone on the roof of the building was about three minutes before Crooks opened fire — and the first time any law enforcement saw that the person on the roof had a gun was about 30 seconds before Crooks opened fire, according to the sources.
At that point, a local law enforcement officer had started to climb onto the roof of the building when he encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer, prompting the officer to fall to the ground and injure his ankle. The local officer then tried to alert other authorities, Trump was told, according to sources.
Much of that was captured in body-worn camera videos that were released Thursday by the Butler Township Police Department. The videos show officers scrambling around the building as they tried to find a way onto the roof, and the moment that one officer was raised onto the roof, only to then fall down.
“F—ing this close, bro!” the officer can be heard telling other officers after hitting the ground. “Dude, he turned around on me. He’s straight up!”
When, seconds later, a Secret Service sniper heard the gunshots, it took the sniper at most five seconds to locate the shooter on the roof and eliminate him with a single shot, Trump was told by the law enforcement officials, according to sources.
In the videos released Thursday by Butler Township police, an officer can he heard minutes after the shooting saying that he’s “pissed” he and his colleagues “just couldn’t find him” before shots rang out.
During Trump’s meeting with FBI agents last week, the former president praised the Secret Service sniper, saying he “did an amazing job” and “was an unbelievable shot,” sources said.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office declined to comment to ABC News. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(LOS ANGELES) — Charges were announced Monday against four men in connection with the fatal shooting of “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor in May.
Robert Barceleau, 18, was charged with one count of murder with special circumstances and personal use of a firearm, one count of attempted robbery with personal use of a firearm, and one count of grand theft with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who announced the charges at a news conference. The DA alleged Barceleau shot Wactor one time in his chest.
Sergio Estrada, 18, was also charged with one count of murder “with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm”; one count of attempted robbery “with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm”; and one count of grand theft “with an allegation of principal armed with a firearm,” the DA announced.
Leonel Gutierrez, 18, was charged with attempted robbery and grand theft with an allegation of a principal armed with a firearm.
Frank Olano, 22, was charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, as well as receiving stolen property and being an accessory to murder.
If convicted, Barceleau faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Estrada faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Olano faces five years and eight months in prison, and Gutierrez faces four years and eight months in prison if convicted.
Barceleau is being held without bail; Estrada is being held on $2,070,000 bail; Olano is being held on $1,080,000 bail; and Gutierrez on $120,000 bail. They will be arraigned on Aug. 29.
Gascón said at Monday’s news conference that he was “committed to seeking justice for Mr. Wactor and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”
“The loss of this talented young actor, who was in the prime of his life and had so much to offer the world, is deeply felt by all of us,” Gascón said. “Mr. Wactor’s work and presence touched the lives of many, and our hearts go out to his family, friends and the entire community who mourn this devastating loss.”
All four suspects have “very lengthy criminal records” and were allegedly affiliated with a gang, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ryan Rabbett said at the press conference.
Wactor, 37, was fatally shot “without provocation” in the early morning hours of May 25, after he ended his shift at a bar and was walking to his car, according to police. Police said the suspects had his car “raised up with a floor jack and were in the process of stealing the catalytic converter.”
Just before he was shot, Wactor had been with a female co-worker, and he immediately stepped in front of her to try to protect her, according to his family and friends.
“They had a mask on and they pulled out a gun,” Wactor’s friend, Colin Flynn, told ABC News. “And from what I understand, Johnny literally stood in between himself and his colleague. And the shooter just pulled the trigger and ran away.”
Following an extensive search, police announced Thursday they had arrested four suspects in the actor’s death.
After the arrests, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that “we must ensure that those who are responsible for this brazen and heinous act are held fully accountable.”
For months, family and friends of Wactor had pushed for arrests to be made in the case.
“I’m here because one of the best men — if not the best man — I’ve ever known, was tragically and brutally taken from this earth,” Wactor’s friend, Micah Parker, said at a news conference in June. “He was taken from his mother, his brothers, his extended family, his friends and his fans.”‘
In a press conference last week, Wactor’s mother, Scarlett Wactor, urged the mayor and district attorney to strengthen the criminal justice system.
“It needs to start with LA. People watch you from across the country. And this is where change needs to start,” she said.
Scarlett Wactor told reporters how the loss of her son has affected her.
“I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but grief is my constant companion,” she said.
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Newly released police body camera footage shows Sonya Massey interacting with police officers 16 hours before she was fatally shot in her Illinois home on July 6, when deputies responded to her 911 call of a suspected prowler.
In the course of the video, which was obtained by ABC affiliate WICS and is about 45 minutes long, an upset Massey is seen outside of a home on July 5, the day before Sean Grayson, the now-former Sangamon County deputy, shot her.
“I don’t know where they at,” Massey said in the video, referring to her children.
“They’re at their dad’s house,” an officer said to Massey. “They’re worried about you too. Everybody just wants you to be OK. That’s all it is.”
That encounter happened after Massey’s mother Donna called 911 to report that her daughter was having a mental health episode. In the video, Sonya Massey appeared to be troubled about the utilities being turned off at her home.
“When I got home, I ain’t got no hot water, ain’t got no lights,” Sonya Massey said in the footage. “I had to throw away all of the food.”
At one point in the video, Sonya Massey told officers she had been taking her medicine.
“When’s the last time you took your medicine?” one of the respondents asked.
“Last night,” Sonya Massey responded.
When Donna Massey called 911 on July 5, she pleaded with the law enforcement not to hurt her daughter.
“She’s been mentally, having a mental breakdown,” Donna Massey said on the 911 call obtained by ABC News. “She thinks everybody’s after her.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump was retained by Sonya Massey’s family soon after her death.
“Sonya Massey’s family is devastated by this new footage, which shows clearly that she was in the midst of a mental health crisis,” Crump told ABC News in a statement on Thursday. “Deputy Sean Grayson’s decision to use deadly force against a woman in distress remains inexcusable, unacceptable, and criminal. Grayson must continue to be held responsible for his actions that killed Sonya, who was in desperate need of help.”
Hours later, at 12:49 a.m. on July 6, Sonya Massey called 911 herself to report a disturbance.
“It sounds like somebody was banging on the side of my house. I don’t know,” Sonya Massey said when calling 911. “Could y’all come and see?”
Grayson, 30, and a second, unnamed Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to her 911 at her Springfield home.
Body camera footage showed Massey, who was unarmed, saying “Please, don’t hurt me,” to the two responding deputies once she answered their knocks on her door.
“I don’t want to hurt you, you called us,” Grayson said.
Seen later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searched for her ID, Grayson pointed to a pot of boiling water on her stove.
“We don’t need a fire while we’re in here,” he said.
Massey then poured the water into the sink.
“I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she said.
Grayson then shouted at Massey and threatened to shoot her, the video shows, and Massey apologized and ducked down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rose, at which time Grayson shot her three times in the face, the footage shows. The former deputy failed to render aid.
Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office last month.
“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. [redacted] and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.
Grayson is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct. He is being held without bond and has pleaded not guilty.
According to police records, Grayson worked at six police departments in four years, was charged with two DUIs and was discharged from the army for serious misconduct. Grayson’s next court appearance is Oct. 21.
“The biggest question is: How did this man ever get hired in law enforcement?” James Wilburn, Sonya Massey’s father told ABC News in an interview in July. “But here’s a man who, in four years, he’s been in six different departments.”
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin and Kimberly Randolph contributed to this report.