Trump classified documents case dismissed by Florida judge
A Florida judge has dismissed the US Justice Department’s case against Donald Trump regarding classified documents, marking a significant legal victory for the former president shortly after a failed assassination attempt. Judge Aileen Cannon granted Mr. Trump’s motion to dismiss the federal case, ruling that the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith by the Justice Department violated the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution.
Trump had pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified information, including the willful retention of national defense documents. Special Counsel Smith, authorized by the Justice Department, intends to appeal the decision.
Following Trump’s departure from the White House in 2021, dozens of classified files were discovered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, some found in unconventional locations like a shower and storage room.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr Smith in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations into the former president.
Judge Cannon said in her ruling that this decision applies to this case and not a second one overseen by Mr Smith over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The former president’s lawyers did not make a similar request to dismiss that case.
The Trump-appointed Florida judge had recently indefinitely postponed the federal classified documents trial, saying there were significant questions over trial evidence.
Legal experts have debated the strengths and weaknesses of the two federal criminal cases brought by Mr Smith.
On Monday, Judge Cannon stepped in and said those details did not matter.
She held that the mere existence of special counsels – how they are appointed and how they are funded – violates the US Constitution.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the BBC on Monday that Judge Cannon’s ruling was “stunning, to say the least”.
While Judge Cannon said her ruling was limited to this case, Mr Rahmani said it casts doubt on the appointment of special counsels in other cases.
That includes the case of Hunter Biden – President Joe Biden’s son – who was investigated by a special counsel and convicted on gun charges last month.
But a key difference is that the special counsel in that case, David Weiss, is a US attorney for Delaware who, unlike Mr Smith, was nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
As well as having the right to an appeal, Mr Smith can also ask for a new judge to be assigned to the case.
Mr Smith’s spokesman said: “The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a Special Counsel.
“The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order.”
Legal experts say Judge Cannon’s ruling is likely to be overturned but that the further delay to the case could prove beneficial to Mr Trump’s campaign.
“Her ruling has no chance of being sustained on appeal as it conflicts with decisions of the Supreme Court and other lower courts, but it will have the effect of preventing any more embarrassing revelations before the election,” said David Super, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center.
Judge Cannon’s decision also comes as Republicans gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Republican National Convention, where Mr Trump will accept the party’s nomination for president.
The US election is on 5 November.
On Monday, Mr. Trump said on his social media site that the dismissal of the case “should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts”.
“Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”
While many Republican lawmakers cheered the decision, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, described the dismissal as a “breathtakingly misguided ruling”.
In May, Mr Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records in a New York hush-money case. He is due to be sentenced in September.
He has also been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, in the 2020 election case.
Mr Trump and some 18 other defendants are also accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election in a separate case.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
Judge Cannon’s ruling cuts against the ruling of judges in other US courts that have dealt with these specially appointed prosecutors.
It draws from theories advanced by some conservative legal scholars and, most notably, by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the top court’s recently decided presidential immunity case.
In that case, the Supreme Court said former presidents, including Mr. Trump, are immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts”.
Judge Cannon cited three times in her decision a concurring opinion by Justice Thomas in the Supreme Court ruling in which he questioned whether there was a legal basis for naming special counsel.
