Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal appeals court to pause proceedings in his bid to overturn a judge's decision to toss out the criminal classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump and two other defendants.

Justice Dept. could drop Donald Trump from the classified document appeal but keep his co-defendants, hoping to reverse Judge Cannon’s special counsel ruling.

Smith's federal criminal cases against Trump were upended by the election, as the Justice Department's longstanding policy is that sitting presidents can't be charged with crimes.