Judge Aileen Cannon dismisses Trump classified documents case

Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.

Cannon ruled that the special counsel cannot prosecute Trump in the case, CNN reported.

The judge, who was appointed by Trump, cites the “unlawful appointment” of Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating the former president and his handling of classified documents after he left office. That means she believes that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.

She cites the appointments clause of the Constitution as Smith was not named to the position by a president and confirmed by the Senate, The New York Times reported. The Associated Press reported that Smith’s office was improperly funded by the Department of Justice.

Cannon had asked attorneys how Smith’s investigation was being funded, CNN reported.

There have been special councils appointed to investigate presidents dating back to the Watergate era, according to the newspaper.

Read the ruling below or here.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a footnote in the court’s decision on presidential immunity there were “serious questions whether the Attorney General has violated that structure by creating an office of the Special Counsel that has not been established by law. Those questions must be answered before this prosecution can proceed,” CNN reported.

The ruling came on the first day of the Republican National Convention where Trump will be nominated as the Republican candidate for president.

CNN called the classified documents case was considered “the strongest one of the four cases that were pending against the former president.”

Trump had pleaded not guilty.

Smith’s team can appeal the ruling, the Times reported.

Trump still faces other cases including a separate one brought by Smith on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the election subversion case in Georgia, CNN reported.

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