US: Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case In Florida Citing Concerns Over Prosecutor Appointment

A Florida judge has dismissed a classified documents case against former US president Donald Trump due to concerns about the appointment of the prosecutor.

File Photo of former US president Donald Trump

Source : Getty

District Judge Aileen Cannon has dismissed the classified documents case against former United States president Donald Trump in Florida. The dismissal comes after concerns were raised about the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case. On Monday, Judge Cannon granted the defence's motion to dismiss the case, thereby nullifying a prosecution that was previously considered one of the most serious legal challenges Trump faced, news agency AP reported. 

Trump's legal team argued that Special Counsel Jack Smith's appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department. This argument was vigorously contested by Smith's team during hearings last month, AP's report stated.

According to CNN, in her ruling, Cannon stated, “Both the Appointments and Appropriations challenges as framed in the Motion raise the following threshold question: is there a statute in the United States Code that authorises the appointment of Special Counsel Smith to conduct this prosecution? After careful study of this seminal issue, the answer is no.” She further noted, “In the end, it seems the Executive’s growing comfort in appointing ‘regulatory’ special counsels in the more recent era has followed an ad hoc pattern with little judicial scrutiny.”

Donald Trump Accused Of Taking Classified National Defence Documents From White House

Donald Trump was indicted in June 2023 by a federal grand jury in Miami, accused of taking classified national defence documents from the White House after he left office and resisting the government’s attempts to retrieve the materials. Both Trump and his aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty.

On 27th July 2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with three new counts, including one additional count of wilful retention of national defence information. Nauta was also charged with two new counts, CNN reported. A third defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, was added to the case and charged with four counts, including being added to the obstruction conspiracy charged in the original indictment.