Justice Department seeks to revive Trump documents case and defends role of special counsel.

US Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith has appealed to a federal court to resurrect the case against former president Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified government documents found at his Florida home in 2021.

The case was dismissed in July by Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida, a Trump appointee, who ruled that the mere existence of special counsels violated the US Constitution.

In his request on Monday, Mr Smith wrote that the judge’s view deviated from legal precedent and took an inadequate account of the history of legally-appointed special counsels.

Trump’s legal team has until 26 September to submit a response to Mr. Smith’s arguments.

Trump had pleaded not guilty to several felony charges in the now-dismissed case, including wilful retention of national defence information.

The 37-count indictment accused Trump of keeping files at his Florida estate and lying to investigators.

He was charged alongside aide Walt Nauta and former employee Carlos de Oliveira, who had also pleaded not guilty.