Lawyers for former President Donald Trump scored a major victor last month when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon killed his classified documents case.

Yet rather than accept that outcome, Special Counsel Jack Smith moved earlier this week to appeal her ruling. 

Judge ruled that Smith's appointment was unconstitutional

According to Politico, Smith accused Cannon of making multiple mistakes when she dismissed the charges that he had brought against the former president.

The judge concluded that Smith had no authority to prosecute Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents as his appointment was unconstitutional.

Fox News noted how she cited the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, which provides that Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate."

Yet as Cannon pointed out in her decision, Smith was never confirmed by the Senate. She remarked, "The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers."

"That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere – whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not," the judge added.

Smith points to Nixon-era special counsel

However, Smith argued in his 81-page filing that Cannon had erred in highlighting what he believes to be irrelevant details which distinguish Trump's case from previous instances in which courts have upheld the attorney general's power to appoint special counsels.

These include the Supreme Court's willingness to back a subpoena issued by the special counsel who investigated President Richard Nixon.

"Congress has granted the Attorney General not only the power to appoint special counsels, but discretion to determine how much independence to give them," Smith wrote.

"The district court attached undue weight to several superficial variations in historical practice that shed no light on the question at hand," the special counsel continued.

Attorney general defends Smith

For his part, Attorney General Merrick Garland came to Smith's defense during a recent interview with NBC News, saying, "Our position is that it’s constitutional and valid. That's why we appealed."

"I will say that this was the same process of appointing special counsel as was followed in the previous administration," he insisted.

"Until now, every single court including the Supreme Court that has considered the legality of a special counsel appointment has upheld it," Garland went on to declare.