A court case related to Former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents was dismissed on Monday by US District Judge Aileen Cannon.
The federal judge argued that the case against Trump was started on illegal grounds with the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith.
Court Ruling
Judge Cannon, who was appointed by the former President, issued a 93-page decision where she described that state’s case as “unlawful.”
“Former President Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on the Unlawful Appointment and Funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is GRANTED in accordance with this Order,” Cannon wrote. “The clerk is directed to close this case.”
Violating the US Constitution
In Cannon’s order which granted the motion to dismiss, she ruled that the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the president violated the US Constitution because of the way he was appointed and funded.
“The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,” Cannon wrote. “The effect of this Order is confined to this proceeding.”
Clarence Thomas’ Theory
Cannon’s ruling referenced the recent Trump immunity case in the Supreme Court, where Justice Clarence Thomas had asserted that special counsels may be unconstitutional.
Her decision criticized special counsels for having little oversight by the Justice Department and that counsel funding in this case was appropriated “without statutory authorization.”
Trump Celebrates
On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump celebrated the dismissal of the case and called for all his other pending cases to be dropped in a similar manner.
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” wrote Trump.
Political Attacks
Trump would continue in his post to accuse the United States Justice Department of being controlled by Democrats, who are coordinating a host of politically-motivated attacks against him.
“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again,” Trump wrote.
Flynn’s Response
Former US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn expressed support for Trump under his post, declaring that the Democrat attacks won’t stop so easily.
“I’m sorry @realDonaldTrump but as much as you want to unite the country (and we need to), the left is not going to back down. Win the election and then finish cleaning up the mess that WDC has become,” Flynn wrote.
Appealing the Decision
A spokesperson for Smith has said that they would be appealing the court’s decision which they feel breaks with the precedent of previous US court rulings about the use of special counsels.
“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,” spokesperson Peter Carr said in a statement. “The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order.”
Restoring Rule of Law
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise came out with a statement after the ruling praising the restoration of law in the United States.
“Judge Cannon today restored the rule of law and made the right call for America,” Kise said in a statement. “From the outset, the Attorney General and Special Counsel have ignored critical constitutional restrictions on the exercise of the prosecutorial power of the United States.”
Biden’s Reaction
During an NBC interview on Monday, President Joe Biden told interviewer Lester Holt that he disagreed but was not surprised by the decision and felt it was inspired by the recent Supreme Court ruling.
“The basis upon which the case was thrown out I find specious because I don’t agree with what Clarence Thomas’ dissent and/or the Supreme Court decision on immunity,” Biden said.
History of Appointment
In 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel to oversee federal investigations into former President Donald Trump. This move was contested by Trump’s lawyers who argued that Attorney General appointments are not supported by the constitution.
“[The constitution] does not permit the Attorney General to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a private citizen and like-minded political ally to wield the prosecutorial power of the United States. As such, Jack Smith lacks the authority to prosecute this action,” said Trump’s team in February.
What Do Americans Think?
A CNN poll in April found that 38% of American adults believed that the classified documents case against Trump should disqualify him from becoming president.
25% said it raised doubts about his ability to do the job and 37% said that the case was not relevant to his ability to serve as president.
