Former President Donald Trump’s classified documents lawsuit was surprisingly dismissed by a federal judge in Florida on Monday, eliminating one of his biggest legal charges just 113 days before the Nov. 5 election.
Judge Eileen Cannon dismissed the lawsuit against the Republican presidential candidate, widely considered the most serious of his four criminal cases, on grounds that his appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith to the case violated the Constitution.
“I’m thrilled that the judge had the courage and the wisdom to make this decision, which has profound implications not only for this case but for other cases,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News shortly after the ruling.
“The special prosecutor worked with everyone to try to bring me down. This is huge. This puts the tournament on a more positive note. This is going to be a great week.”
Trump, 78, faces up to 450 years in prison if convicted on all charges in the case.
The former president was accused of hiding troves of classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago home after leaving office and then trying to cover them up.
Judge Cannon ruled that Congress must appoint “constitutional officers” and that Congress must also authorize expenditures for such prosecutions.
“That role cannot be usurped or dispersed elsewhere by the executive branch, whether in this case or another, whether in time of national need or not,” Cannon wrote.
“Special Counsel Smith’s investigation resulted in unlawful withdrawal of funds from the open-ended budget,” the judge wrote.
“The Office of Special Counsel has spent tens of millions of dollars since November 2022, all of which was unconstitutionally drawn from its open-ended budget,” Cannon wrote.
“Special Counsel Smith’s investigation and prosecution have spanned more than 18 months, been heavily funded by the Treasury Department without statutory authorization, and at this point, it seems nearly impossible to rewrite history. The Court is at a loss as to how a remedy short of removal could resolve this serious separation of powers violation, but the answer is not entirely obvious and precedent is not well developed.”
In his ruling, a federal judge appointed by President Trump cited Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ July 1 dissent on presidential immunity, suggesting the appointment of a special counsel may be unconstitutional.
Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta, were indicted in June 2023 in the classified records case following the dramatic FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.
Cannon’s ruling will have ripples in the courtroom because Smith is also the prosecutor in a second federal case against Trump for challenging the results of the 2020 election. That case is being presided over by federal Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, who Trump has accused of being biased against him.
Trump also faces election-related charges in Georgia, but it’s unclear when or if the case will go to trial due to a defense challenge to the performance of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat who previously hired her boyfriend, Nathan Wade, as lead prosecutor.
The former president was indicted on 34 charges in New York state for falsifying business records to hide “hush money” payments in 2016, and was convicted in a final trial on May 30. Trump has not yet been sentenced in the case, and has said he will appeal.
In a remarkable coincidence, just hours before Judge Cannon’s ruling, President Trump told Washington Post reporter Michael Goodwin that he was “hearing” that after Saturday’s assassination attempt, President Biden and the Justice Department, not the judge, would drop the case and additional federal charges related to the 2020 election.
The Justice Department and lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
This is an ongoing story, please check back for future updates.
