Donald Trump's classified documents case dismissed

 

Former US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before leaving for the day at his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 10, 2024. [AFP]

A Florida judge appointed by Donald Trump on Monday dismissed one of the criminal cases against him, concerning charges that he mishandled top secret documents -- a decision the prosecution is set to appeal.

The dismissal was a stunning victory for Trump, effectively removing a major legal threat against the former president, who faces other criminal cases that he says should be thrown out as well.

The court decision added to Trump's seemingly unstoppable momentum on the first day of the Republican National Convention, where he became the party's official nominee to run against President Joe Biden just days after surviving an assassination attempt.

In her ruling, Judge Aileen Cannon said that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, was unlawfully appointed and that the case should be therefore tossed.

Smith was named in 2022 by Biden appointee Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents after he left office, as well as his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Peter Carr, the spokesman for Smith's office, said the prosecutor had been authorized by the Justice Department to appeal Cannon's decision.

"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," Carr said in a statement.

The Trump-appointed judge made her ruling after lawyers for the 78-year-old argued for a partial stay of proceedings to allow for an assessment of a new Supreme Court ruling that a former president has broad immunity from prosecution for actions taken in his official role as president.

In a 93-page opinion, Cannon said Smith's appointment and funding usurped the role of Congress, echoing a recent opinion put forward by Clarence Thomas, one of the conservatives who dominate the Supreme Court.

"The Court is convinced that... 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," she concluded.

"The clerk is directed to close this case," the judge wrote.

Election looms

Cannon did not make a ruling on the merits of the case, which critics have accused her of slow-walking.

The judge's decision followed Trump's win earlier this month at the Supreme Court with the immunity decision.

That decision has helped Trump in his quest to delay the trials he faces until after the November election.

These include charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Biden.

But one of the cases dogging Trump on the campaign trail already resulted in a conviction: he was found guilty in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the real estate tycoon.

"This dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Reaction to the decision was split down the ideological divide.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed the ruling as "good news for America and the rule of law" and called on the government to halt the "witch hunt," especially in the wake of the weekend assassination attempt on Trump.

Eric Holder, who was attorney general under President Barack Obama, said tossing the case was "so bereft of legal reasoning as to be utterly absurd."

The decision was "all about delay," and the "incompetent" Cannon should be removed, he added.

In the case, Trump was facing 31 counts of "willful retention of national defense information," each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

He also faced charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

Trump allegedly kept classified documents -- which included records from the Pentagon and CIA -- unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.

The material included secret nuclear and defense documents, according to prosecutors.

Republicans contended the prosecution was unfair and selective after a federal prosecutor in February opted not to pursue charges against Biden, who kept some classified material at his home after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.

Biden cooperated in returning his documents.