A Florida judge has dismissed the case against former President Donald Trump regarding his handling of classified documents, ruling that the appointment and funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith were illegal.
Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump, ruled on Monday, July 15th, in a detailed 93-page decision that Smith’s appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 violated legal standards, mandating the closure of the case.
Cannon stated, “Since November 2022, Special Counsel Smith has been exercising power that [he] did not lawfully possess.”
The judge added, “Because Special Counsel Smith’s exercise of prosecutorial power has not been authorized by law, the court sees no way forward aside from dismissal of the superseding indictment.”
The decision came on the opening day of the Republican National Convention,
The ruling has significant implications for the former president’s ongoing legal challenges.
Trump’s legal team had argued that 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.”
While the special counsel’s office maintained that previous court decisions affirmed the attorney general’s authority to appoint special counsels, Judge Cannon disagreed. She ordered, “The clerk is directed to close this case.”
The decision comes in the wake of an alleged assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend.
In a statement, Trump connected his legal victory to the weekend’s events and suggested that other ongoing cases against him should also be dismissed. A source close to the former president reported that Trump was “surprised” but “very happy” with the ruling.
The case, which accused Trump of mishandling classified documents after leaving office, has been a focal point of political and legal debate.
The indictment had alleged that the documents involved contained details about the defense and weapons capabilities of both the U.S. and foreign nations, U.S. nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attacks, and strategic plans for possible retaliatory actions in response to foreign aggression.
While this decision stalls the classified documents case, its implications for other related legal proceedings against Trump remain uncertain. The ruling does not affect the federal election interference case overseen by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who operates under separate judicial authority.
Smith can appeal this decision to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, though any expedited hearings will likely occur after the upcoming election.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to face other legal challenges, including a significant case in New York where his sentencing has been deferred following a Supreme Court decision partially favoring his presidential immunity.
