Washington DC - A US appeals court on Thursday granted a request by Special Counsel Jack Smith to pause the case against Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.

District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, had dismissed the case against the former president in July on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed.

Smith appealed Cannon's ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but he asked the court on Wednesday to pause the proceedings following Trump's victory in the November 5 presidential election.

The special counsel asked the appeals court to give him until December 2 so the government can "assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."

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The Justice Department has a long-standing policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.

A federal judge last week granted a request by Smith to pause the case against Trump for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding – the session of Congress called to certify Joe Biden's win, which was violently attacked on January 6, 2021, by a mob of the former president's supporters.

Smith also charged Trump with mishandling top secret documents after leaving the White House.

Trump was facing 31 counts of "willful retention of national defense information," each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He also faced charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

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The president-elect also faces two state cases – in New York and Georgia.

He was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election to stop her from revealing an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

Trump was scheduled to be sentenced in July, but his lawyers asked that his conviction be tossed in light of the Supreme Court ruling that an ex-president has broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Judge Juan Merchan is to rule on the dismissal motion on November 19 and has set sentencing – should it still be necessary – for November 26.

Trump, the first former president convicted of a crime, faces up to four years in prison on each count. As a first-time offender, however, he was considered far more likely to receive a fine and probation – but that was before his White House win.

In Georgia, Trump faces racketeering charges over his efforts to subvert the 2020 results in the state, but that case will likely be frozen while he is in office under the policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.