A U.S. judge in Florida has dismissed the criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office.
This is a legal victory for Donald Trump, who was the target of an assassination attempt last weekend.
District Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump, ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the prosecution, was unlawfully appointed and did not have the authority to bring charges, according to Reuters.
This decision follows a July 1 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, granting Trump absolute immunity from prosecution for many actions taken during his presidency.
Cannon’s ruling came just two days after an assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.
Donald Trump is expected to be officially named the Republican presidential nominee this week during the Republican convention, which began on Monday.
Jack Smith, the special prosecutor appointed by the Attorney General, will likely appeal this decision. In several other legal cases against Donald Trump, courts have repeatedly upheld the U.S. Justice Department’s ability to appoint special counsels for politically sensitive investigations.
A spokesperson for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment from several media outlets, including Reuters.
With this decision, it is almost certain that Trump’s trial in the classified documents case will not take place before the next presidential election.
In this case, Trump was indicted for willfully retaining sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021 and for obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve these documents. Trump’s personal aide, Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Olivera, were also charged with obstructing the investigation.
Trump’s lawyers challenged the legal authority of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s 2022 decision to appoint Smith, arguing that it violated the U.S. Constitution. They contended that Smith’s office was not created by Congress and that the special counsel was not confirmed by the Senate.
Lawyers from Smith’s office disputed Trump’s claims, citing a well-established practice of using special counsels for politically sensitive investigations.
“This ruling goes against about twenty years of institutional precedent and conflicts with decisions made in the Mueller investigation and in Washington regarding Jack Smith himself,” said Bradley Moss, an attorney specializing in national security, according to Reuters.
Moss also raised the question of whether Smith will seek to have Cannon removed from the case. Cannon’s ruling is the latest and most significant in a series of decisions favoring Trump and expressing skepticism about the conduct of prosecutors. Previously, Cannon had indefinitely postponed the trial while considering numerous legal challenges from Trump’s team.