Garland breaks down Cannon special counsel ruling and Trump shooting

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday broke down a recent ruling on the constitutionality of a special counsel and the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Federal judge Aileen Cannon ruled earlier this month that Jack Smith's appointment as the special counsel to investigate Trump's classified documents case was unconstitutional because it violated the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, since Smith was not approved by the Senate. 

Garland said that his office is appealing the Florida court ruling, because he would not have made such a "basic mistake," and that other courts, including the Supreme Court, have upheld special counsel appointments in the past.

“For more than 20 years I was a federal judge. Do I look like somebody who would make that basic mistake about the law? I don’t think so,” Garland told NBC host Lester Holt. “Our position is that it’s constitutional and valid. That’s why we appealed.

"I will say that this is the same process of appointing special counsel as was followed in the previous administration, and for special counsel Durham and special counsel Mueller, multiple special counsels over the decades, going back to Watergate and the special prosecutor in that case."

Cannon, however, said that an underlying problem was the fact that Congress failed to have input in Smith's appointment, and therefore it violated the clause and separation of powers. 

Garland also reflected on the Trump shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, where the former president was injured. Two other attendees were injured at the rally, and one was killed. The shooter was also killed.

The attorney general said that the security failings surrounding the shooting were "extremely alarming" and "not acceptable." 

“This should not happen in America. This kind of security failure is not acceptable. This kind of a horrific attack on a former American president just can’t continue. We have to be sure we stop this,” Garland said. "Democracy will not survive if people decide that the way in which they’re going to get whatever outcomes they want, or whatever other motive he may have, is by killing someone."

Secret Service officials have been questioned about how the shooter was able to get close enough to the former president that he could injure or even kill him, and the Secret Service chief at the time has since resigned.

Federal agencies investigating the shooting, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, have not revealed a motive for the assassination attempt so far, but the shooter has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.