The judge in charge of the case in which Donald Trump is accused of withholding classified documents after he left the White House ruled the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith unconstitutional and threw out the entire process on Monday.
In a decision that represents a major victory for the former president, who is running for this year’s Republican presidential election, Judge Eileen Cannon responded to a request by defense attorneys to dismiss the case, which is currently underway in the state of Florida.
The decision by the district judge appointed to the court by Trump represents an abrupt end to a criminal case that, at the time it was filed, was widely considered the most dangerous of all the legal threats facing the former president. .
Although the case has long been stalled and the prospect of a trial before the November election is already unlikely, the judge’s decision is a major legal victory for Trump, who is currently recovering from an assassination attempt. The Republican Party is preparing to accept the presidential nomination this week during the Republican National Convention.
It is one of four criminal cases filed against Trump and includes dozens of charges related to the illegal possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump has also been accused of obstructing the FBI’s efforts to obtain the material, declaring his innocence and denying all wrongdoing.
Defense attorneys filed several challenges to the case, including a technicality-of-law one claiming that special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, was illegally appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause because he was confirmed by Congress, and his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.
Gannon, whose handling of the case was under scrutiny, accepted the president’s argument in a 93-page order in which he argued that the Constitution “gave Congress an important role in the appointment of officers” and that this role “should not be usurped by the executive.” branch “, “whether on this occasion or on any other occasion, whether or not in the case of the greatest national necessity.”
Jack Smith’s team strongly challenged the argument during a hearing before Cannon last month and told the judge that while the verdict was in favor of the defense team, dismissing the entire case was not the right decision.
This is the first time that one of the 4 criminal charges against Trump has been completely dismissed.
Lawyers can also appeal the decision.
In other cases, courts have repeatedly affirmed the US Justice Department’s ability to appoint special counsel to handle certain politically sensitive investigations.
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