A Florida federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump regarding his alleged illegal retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The ruling centered on the unconstitutionality of appointing a special prosecutor for the case.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges, asserting that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland lacked the authority under the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution to appoint Jack Smith as a special prosecutor acting independently.
Trump Classified Documents Case Dismissed : Unconstitutional Appointment
“None of the statutes cited as legal authority for the appointment — 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510, 515, 533 — gives the attorney general broad inferior-officer appointing power or bestows upon him the right to appoint a federal officer with the kind of prosecutorial power wielded by special counsel Smith,” Judge Cannon stated. She added that the special counsel’s arguments, historical references, and reliance on out-of-circuit authority were unconvincing.
