Judge Dismisses Classified Documents Case Against Trump

“A federal judge dismissed in its entirety the classified documents case against Donald Trump on Monday, ruling that the appointment of the special counsel, Jack Smith, had violated the Constitution,” the New York Times reports.

“In a stunning ruling, the judge, Aileen Cannon, found that because Mr. Smith had not been named to the post of special counsel by the president or confirmed by the Senate, his appointment was in violation of the appointments clause of the Constitution.”

“The ruling by Judge Cannon, who was put on the bench by Mr. Trump, flew in the face of previous court decisions reaching back to the Watergate era that upheld the legality of the ways in which independent prosecutors have been named. And in a single swoop, it removed a major legal threat against Mr. Trump on the first day of the Republican National Convention, where he is set to formally become the party’s nominee for president.”

This was widely seen as the clearest-cut of the four criminal cases against Trump.