The Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents trial dismissed the case against the former president Monday on the grounds that the appointment of and funding for special counsel Jack Smith was illegal.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump nominee to the bench, said in her 93-page decision that Smith’s appointment was “unlawful” and unconditional.
The decision came on the first day of the Republican National Convention, and following an assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend.
“The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,” Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in her order granting Trump’s motion to dismiss.
The judge ruled that no federal statute cited by the Justice Department authorized the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith by the Attorney General, meaning he has no authority to prosecute the case.
