U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed on Monday the classified documents charges against former President Donald Trump over the manner in which the special counsel was appointed, according to a new court filing, NBC 5 DFW reported.
In Cannon’s ruling, she said that since special counsel Jack Smith was not named to the position by the president or confirmed by the Senate, his role was in violation of the appointments clause of the Constitution.
“The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,” Cannon ruled.
The judge noted that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional because it “effectively usurps” the authority of Congress.
“The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers,” Cannon wrote in her lengthy order Monday. “That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere–whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not.”
Smith was appointed as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November of 2022, ABC News reported.
The bomb-shell ruling comes after a volatile weekend where the former president survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and the Republican Convention gets underway today in Milwaukee.
President Trump literally had an assassination attempt on his life and the man, in possibly what is the coolest moment since Theodore Roosevelt giving a speech after getting shot, raises his fist telling people to fight. pic.twitter.com/YYWXM01kjX
— Malcolm FleX (@Malcolm_fleX48) July 13, 2024
The ruling is expected to be appealed.
