A judge in Florida has dismissed the case against former President Trump regarding his handling of classified documents.
Trump faced charges from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his possession of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago. He had pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements.
“Former President Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on the Unlawful Appointment and Funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is GRANTED in accordance with this Order,” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in her Monday ruling. “The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.”
Following the ruling, Trump expressed his satisfaction to Fox News’ Bret Baier, anchor and executive editor of ‘Special Report with Bret Baier’. “I am thrilled that a judge had the courage and wisdom to do this. This has big, big implications, not just for this case but for other cases,” Trump said.
Trump continued, “The special counsel worked with everyone to try to take me down,” speaking from Milwaukee, the site of this week’s Republican National Convention. “This is a big, big deal. It only makes this convention more positive. This will be an amazing week.”
The Appointments Clause specifies, “Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States be appointed by the President subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, although Congress may vest the appointment of inferior officers in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.” Smith, however, was never confirmed by the Senate.
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