A federal judge in Florida on Monday he was fired the criminal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump and two co-defendants, which ruled that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith as prosecutor in the case violated the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution.
Trump was accused in the case of illegally keeping hundreds of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after he left the White House in January 2021 and trying to hide them from government officials seeking their return.
The bombshell ruling by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon — appointed to the post by Trump — comes two days after a would-be assassin narrowly missed Trump’s death during a campaign rally in the West Pennsylvania.
Cannon’s decision, which also dismissed criminal charges facing Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago worker Carlos De Oliveira, was issued hours before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This convention will officially confirm Trump as the GOP presidential nominee for the November election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith (L) and former President Donald Trump.
Getty Images | Reuters
Smith’s office can and almost certainly will appeal Cannon’s decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The issue of the legality of his appointment is likely to end up before the US Supreme Court.
Cannon, in her ruling granting a motion to dismiss by Trump’s lawyers, found that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s appointment of Smith as special counsel violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which says “officers of the United States” must appoint by the president and confirmed by the US Senate. .
It also ruled that Smith’s use of the “permanent indefinite appropriation” — funding for his prosecution — violated that constitutional clause.
The decision is just the latest in a series of controversial Cannon rulings and rulings that have been seen as favoring Trump.
Aileen M. Cannon, United States District Judge, Southern District of Florida
Courtesy: US Courts
Trump, in a social media post responding to the decision, wrote: “As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events of Saturday, this dismissal of the indictment of the Florida laws should be only the first step, quickly followed by his firing ALL the witch hunts — Washington, DC January 6th Scam, Manhattan DA Zombie Case, New York AG Scam, False Claims About a Woman I Never Met (a decades-old photo of then- her spouse doesn’t count) , and Georgia’s “Perfect” Phone Call rates.
“The Democrat Department of Justice coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an election interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s political opponent, ME,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post.
Trump still faces three other pending criminal charges, all of which he mentioned in his Truth Social post.
In one of them, in federal court in Washington, the Republican is charged with crimes related to his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Smith’s office is prosecuting the case against Trump in Washington.
Cannon’s ruling on the legality of Smith’s appointment is not binding on D.C. Judge Tanya Chutkan, but it is certain to be cited by Trump’s lawyers there in a renewed effort to prevent this election case.
Chutkan must also rule on issues in the case in light of a dramatic July 1 decision by the Supreme Court that found Trump had presumptive criminal immunity for official acts he performed as president. It is not yet clear how this decision will affect the election case against him.
Trump is accused in a state case in Georgia of racketeering related to his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
And he is awaiting his criminal sentence in New York court after being convicted this year of crimes related to the 2016 payment by his then-lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels.
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