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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 She added that the special counsel's arguments, historical references, and reliance on out-of-circuit authority were unconvincing.

Judge Cannon emphasized that the appointments clause serves as a default rule, mandating that all "officers of the United States" be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, which Smith was not.

Violation of the Appropriations Clause

The judge also ruled that Smith's appointment violated the appropriations clause, which prohibits withdrawing money from the U.S. Treasury without Congress's appropriation. However, she did not delve deeply into this matter, focusing instead on the appointments clause to dismiss the case.

Trump Classified Documents Case Dismissed : Arguments at the Hearing

During a hearing on Trump's dismissal motion last month, Trump attorney Emil Bove argued that the law Garland cited to appoint Smith authorized the appointment of special attorneys as employees under the attorney general's authority, not independent officers. He highlighted Garland's repeated emphasis on Smith's independence.

Conversely, James Inman Pearce, representing the government, argued that Congress's 1930 addition of "special attorney" to the law ratified a 60-year history of using independent special prosecutors in prominent scandals.

Trump's Response

Following Judge Cannon's order, Trump took to Truth Social to express his views, labeling the prosecution and other cases against him as "witch hunts."

"The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these political attacks, which are an election interference conspiracy against Joe Biden's political opponent, ME," Trump posted.

Case Background

Trump was indicted last year alongside his personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira on charges of unlawfully retaining classified material at Mar-a-Lago and obstructing the subsequent investigation.

The investigation began after the National Archives and Records Administration requested the return of documents moved from the White House to Trump's Palm Beach estate. Trump produced 15 boxes containing 184 classified documents in late December 2021. Following this, NARA referred the matter to the Department of Justice.

After Trump’s team handed over another 38 classified documents during a June 2022 meeting, the DOJ suspected more documents remained. The subsequent August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago resulted in the seizure of 11,000 documents, over 100 of which had classified markings, according to the DOJ.

Smith was appointed as special counsel on November 18, 2022.

Legal Representation

The government is represented by Jay Bratt, David Harbach, and Jack Smith of the special counsel's office. Trump is represented by Chris Kise of Continental PLLC, and Emil Bove, Stephen Weiss, and Todd Blanche of Blanche Law. Nauta is represented by Sasha Dadan of Dadan Law Firm PLLC, and Stanley Woodward of Brand Woodward Law LP. De Oliveira is represented by Larry Murrell of Murrell PA, and John Irving of E&W Law.