Florida judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump

Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, has dismissed the criminal case against him on charges of mishandling top secret documents, ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed.

Cannon recounted that Smith’s appointment was not proper and dismissed the case. The case was one of the strongest and dangerous legal threats Trump faced ahead of his 2024 US election campaign, reported Al Jazeera.

“Former President Trump’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment Based on the Unlawful Appointment and Funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is GRANTED,” the Judge wrote in her order.

The order further stated: “The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution."

The decision was made by Cannon after Trump’s lawyers argued to obtain partial proceedings to assess a ruling of the Supreme Court that former presidents have been granted broad immunity from being prosecuted.

The lawyers further argued that Smith’s appointment was not valid and it violated the Appointments Clause in the Constitution of the United States of America. They also stated that his office was funded by the Justice Department, according to Al Jazeera.

Trump, who just survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, wrote on his Truth Social platform after the ruling that: “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 Florida case had 31 counts of “wilful retention of national defence information” and each count could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison for Trump.