FILE - Former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time as he smiles while speaking at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
- Judge Cannon ruled that the DOJ’s Special Counsel was unlawfully appointed.
Two days after surviving an attempted assassination, former President Donald Trump received news Monday morning that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has formally dismissed federal charges against him for allegedly withholding classified documents.
Judge Cannon ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed, violating the U.S. Constitution’s appointments clause. She said Smith should have been appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by former President Trump, also ruled that Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s appropriations clause given that Congress had not appropriated funding for Smith’s investigation.
The decision removes a major pending legal threat for Trump on the day the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Trump will be formally nominated as the party’s standard-bearer for a third consecutive time this week.
Trump took to TruthSocial Monday morning following the news, saying “all the witch hunts” should be dismissed, referring to the other pending cases against him. He called for the end of “weaponization” of the justice system.
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts — The January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count), and the Georgia ‘Perfect’ Phone Call charges,” Trump wrote. “The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”
Trump was facing 40 federal charges for allegedly taking classified national security information from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago Florida home and for allegedly obstructing federal agencies investigating the matter when seeking the return of the documents.
Judge Cannon’s ruling order the case be closed. However, the Biden Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision, although no official word has yet come from the agency as of the time of publication.
The unprecedented indictment of Trump in the matter came in June 2023, some 10 months after the FBI raided his Florida property.
READ MORE: Trump faces federal indictment over handling of classified documents
At the time of the news of the indictment, Trump called it a “dark day” in the country.
Frank Corder
