Judge Cannon dismisses secret documents case against Trump

Cannon made the surprise decision to launch an investigation into documents the former president kept at his home, deeming the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith unconstitutional and has repeatedly refused to hand them over. .

In an important victory for Trump, Cannon upheld an argument that Smith’s appointment was illegal, rejected by other judges in several cases facing the former president.

“The impeachment is dismissed because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution,” he concluded in the 93-page decision, which also clarified that he was not bound by other jurisdictions.

“After a detailed examination of the fundamental challenges raised in this motion, the Court firmly believes that Special Counsel Smith’s investigation breaks down two structural pillars of our constitutional system, the role of Congress in appointing officers and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures of the Act,” he adds.

“None of the statutes cited as statutory authority for appointment…gives the Attorney General broad authority to appoint subordinate officers or grants him the right to appoint a federal officer with the type of prosecutorial power exercised by Special Counsel Smith,” Cannon wrote.

While leaving the White House, Trump pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges of obstructing justice and endangering national security by mishandling classified documents.

The decision comes two days after Trump suffered an assassination attempt and the same day the Republican National Convention began formalizing his candidacy for the November presidential election.

If the decision is overturned in an appeals court, Smith could seek to have Cannon removed from the case for acting unusually favorable to Trump, who nominated himself as a federal judge.

Trump celebrated the dismissal of the case in a post on his social media site, Truth Social. Following Saturday’s assassination attempt against him in Pennsylvania, he argued that all charges against him, criminal and civil, should be dismissed “as we move forward in uniting our nation.”

However, Cannon’s ruling will have no effect on Trump’s criminal conviction in Manhattan, which was brought by a local district attorney, not a special prosecutor.

Among the most important evidence for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) withholding of documents are recordings of Trump talking about his possession of classified documents and about 100 classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. FBI.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said Judge Cannon’s ruling “goes against long-accepted practice and repeated judicial precedent” about the importance of appointing an independent counsel to handle cases of fundamental importance.

“This is an error of law and should be immediately appealed. This is further evidence that Judge Cannon cannot handle this case impartially, and it should be reassigned,” Schumer added.

For his part, Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said: “Today’s decision breaks precedents in Florida, and is further evidence that the barriers to our democracy are being broken. Crumbling.”

For his part, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said Judge Eileen Cannon’s ruling was “good news for America and the rule of law.”

He said House Republicans have “repeatedly argued that special counsel Jack Smith abused the authority of his office in going after President Trump.”