Donald Trump's classified documents case dismissed hours after assassination attempt
Judge Aileen Cannon said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution as she threw out the case.
Donald Trump's classified documents case has been dismissed by the federal judge because of concerns that the appointment of the special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional.
The Republican presidential candidate had faced 40 counts of felony charges alleging he unlawfully mishandled sensitive government documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving the White House.
But on Monday, US District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the Trump's defense team's motion to dismiss the case in its entirety, ruling that Smith's appointment had violated the appointments clause of the Constitution.
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"The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith's appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution," Cannon wrote in a 93-page decision.
Cannon, who had drawn scrunity from both Democrats and Republicans over her handling of the case, wrote that Smith's appointment was unconstiutional because it "effectively usurps" the legislative authority of Congress.
She justified this decision by writing that the special counsel had not been confirmed by the Senate, adding that Smith's office has been improperly funded by the Department of Justice.
The clause, which is found in Article 2, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, gives Congress the power to grant the authority to appointment certain government positions.
"The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers. That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere — whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not," Cannon wrote.
"Upon careful study of the foundational challenges raised in the Motion, the Court is convinced that Special Counsel's Smith's prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme - the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law," Cannon added.
The dismissal of the case, which Special Counsel Jack Smith has been working to take to trial, came after the Supreme Court ruled that the former president has broad immunity from prosecution of some of his conduct as president in his 2020 election interference case earlier this month.
The former president had faced 40 felony charges in his classified documents case alleging him of illegaly stowing classified documents and willfully retaining national security information at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago estate.
From here on out, the dismissal can be appealed by Smith's office to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
This comes after a shocking weekend for the former president and millions of Americans after he was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump is slated to attend the Republican National Convention at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which begins today, to formally accept his party's presidential nomination.
