A Florida judge in charge of the US justice department’s classified documents trial against Donald Trump has dismissed the case against the former president in a huge triumph coming after he escaped an assassination attempt on his life.
Judge Aileen Cannon granted Trump’s request to strike out the federal case on the basis that the justice department’s appointment and funding of special prosecutor Jack Smith goes against the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution.
Trump pleaded not guilty to several charges in the case over his handling of classified docu, including deliberate retention of national defence information, reports the BBC News.
Several classified documents were discovered in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida resort, even after he left the White House in 2021, according to reports.
“The Court is convinced that Special Counsel’s Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme—the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law,” Judge Cannon as she read her 93-page order.
The former president faced multiple felony charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Trump was accused of keeping files at his Florida estate and lying to investigators. He was also alleged to have tried to obstruct the investigation into the handling of the documents.
Also charged alongside Trump was his aide, Walt Nauta and former employee Carlos de Oliveira, who also pleaded not guilty.
Jack Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to oversee two federal investigations on Trump.
Judge Cannon made it clear in her ruling that this decision applies to this case and not a second one overseen by Smith over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election as the former president’s lawyers did not make a similar request to dismiss that case.
Source: BBC News
