Special counsel Jack Smith withdraws from appeal of classified docs case against Trump’s co-defendants.

In a delightful twist that could only be described as a cosmic comedy, Special Counsel Jack Smith has thrown in the towel on his appeal against the co-defendants of President-elect Donald Trump, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in the classified documents debacle. Now, isn’t it just the sweetest irony that after months of legal chest-thumping, Smith’s team, tails between their legs, surrendered the case to the fine folks at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida? This, of course, came after Smith himself had to drop his appeal against Trump due to that pesky little DOJ policy about not prosecuting sitting presidents – oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Back in June 2023, Trump, in his signature style, pleaded not guilty to a whopping 37 criminal counts tied to his rather cavalier approach to classified materials. We’re talking about everything from U.S. nuclear secrets, which Trump probably thought would make great bedtime reading, to other sensitive defense capabilities. But, alas, his efforts to keep these documents for his personal library were thwarted, leading to this legal circus.

Adding to the schadenfreude, Trump, along with Nauta and De Oliveira, also found themselves in hot water over an alleged attempt to erase security footage at Mar-a-Lago, showcasing a level of tech-savviness that one might not expect from a former president and his aides.

The appeal, initially taken to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, was a last-ditch effort after Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed Smith’s case citing issues with his appointment. But, in a move that must have had Trump’s supporters chuckling into their morning coffee, Smith’s team withdrew from the appeal, passing the legal hot potato to Florida’s federal prosecutors. Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has now stepped into the fray, though he’s playing coy, not responding to ABC News’ inquiries.

As if this wasn’t enough of a spectacle, Smith is also in the process of wrapping up his election interference case against Trump, now that Trump has secured reelection. Talk about timing! Smith is expected to submit his final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland, perhaps to be filed away in some dusty drawer, never to see the light of day once Trump’s administration kicks into high gear.

In the end, as Smith prepares to step down, we can’t help but revel in the delicious irony of a special counsel’s career ending with a whimper rather than a bang, all while the master of political survival, Donald Trump, prepares to once again take the stage. What a time to be alive