Secret papers case against Trump dismissed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge presiding over the case over former President Donald Trump’s classified documents in Florida on Monday dismissed the indictment, siding with defense attorneys who said the special prosecutor in the case had been illegally appointed.

Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision — which can be appealed and could be overturned by another court — for now brings an abrupt and stunning end to a criminal case that was once considered the most dangerous of all those hanging over the former Republican president.

Though the case was already delayed and the prospect of a trial before the November election was remote, the judge’s order is a huge legal victory for Trump as he recovers from an alleged assassination attempt this weekend and prepares for the Republican convention this week in Milwaukee.

It is the latest stroke of luck in the four pending court cases against Trump.

Although he was convicted in May in New York on charges that he paid to suppress unfavorable news, the sentencing announcement was delayed following a Supreme Court decision granting broad immunity to former presidents. That decision will result in significant delays in a separate case brought by Smith, who accuses Trump of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Another election subversion case filed in Atlanta has been delayed by revelations of a romantic relationship between the district attorney general and the special prosecutor.

On his social media page, Trump said the decision to dismiss the case “should be just the first step” and that the other three cases, which he called “witch hunts,” should also be thrown out.

Trump faced dozens of charges that he illegally retained classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructed FBI efforts to recover them.

Defense attorneys filed multiple challenges to the case, including a technical legal claim that special counsel Jack Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause because he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland rather than confirmed by Congress, and that his office was illegally funded by the Justice Department.

Fiscal Designation

The judge ruled that special prosecutor Jack Smith was not appointed by Congress.

Usurpation

“The Special Prosecutor’s position effectively usurps that important legislative authority, shifting it to the head of the Department, and in the process threatens the structural freedom inherent in the separation of powers,” Aileen Cannon wrote in her 93-page order.

Valid media

“If the political branches wish to give the Attorney General the power to appoint Smith to investigate and prosecute this action with all the powers of a federal prosecutor, there are valid means to do so.”

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