Constitutional lawyer backs DOJ, says one word grants Garland authority to appoint Jack Smith

Seligman argued on behalf of the DOJ.

Matthew Seligman, a constitutional lawyer and scholar, argued on behalf of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the Friday hearing, pointing to one specific word in a statute that backs Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith in the classified documents case against former President Trump.

The word "appoint" is used in section 533, he pointed out to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. This is significant, he explained, as ordinary employees are not installed via appointment. The word is used in the context of government officials, who are put in place by appointment.

According to Seligman, who is part of a group of constitutional lawyers that is called "Defenders of Democracy," the statute is abundantly clear in granting the attorney general with the authority to appoint such officials, or special counsels, to prosecute crimes in the U.S.

Thus, he said, Smith is lawfully in place as special counsel in the classified

documents case.