A federal judge in Florida on Monday dismissed the prosecution of former President Donald Trump in the “Documents” case, ruling that special counsel Jack Smith was not appointed in a constitutional or lawful manner.
Judge Eileen Cannon granted the defense’s motion, ruling that Smith could not lawfully bring charges against Trump in federal court because he had not been confirmed by the US Senate and was not a federal prosecutor at the time of his appointment.
“After all, the administration’s increasing familiarity with appointing ‘regulatory’ special counsels in recent years appears to have followed a haphazard pattern with little judicial scrutiny,” Cannon wrote in a CNN report. report.
update: Inside her opinionJudge Cannon wrote:
After all, the administration’s recent growing habit of appointing “regulatory” special advisers has been a haphazard one, with little judicial scrutiny. Perhaps this is because Nixon Subsequent cases have followed suit. Perhaps this is effectively justified by the urgency of a national crisis. Or it may be explained by the relative lack of investigation of this kind, by Congressional indifference, or by the important role that individuals like special counsels have played in our nation’s history. Whatever the explanation, this complaint requires a careful analysis of the statutory circumstances to ensure that it complies with the Constitution, and this Court has sought to do so carefully.
Thus, the Supreme Court returns to its roots: the Appointments Clause is “one of the important structural guarantees of our constitutional system.” Edmund520 U.S. at 659. Similarly, the Appropriations Clause carefully distinguishes between Congress’s control of the “purse” and the Executive’s control of the “sword,” see Federalist No. 78 (Alexander Hamilton). The consequences of relaxing either of these important clauses would be profound in this case and beyond. As Justice Frankfurter explained in his opinion: Youngstown“[t]Dangerous growth of power does not happen overnight; however slowly, it arises from the generative forces that result from an unlimited disregard for the constraints that limit even the most impartial assertions of authority.” Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer343 U.S. 579, 594 (1952) (Judge Frankfurter, concurring).[I]Illegal and unconstitutional practices are established only through a silent approach and minor deviations from legal procedures.” Boyd v. United States116 U.S. 616, 635 (1886).
The surprising development came on the morning of the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is likely to add excitement to an already emotional gathering following Saturday’s assassination attempt on President Trump.
Many conservatives believe the string of indictments against Trump – two federal and two state – and the civil lawsuits helped create a climate of hostility that may have fomented the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Legal experts say the “documents” lawsuit is perhaps Trump’s most damaging case because he did not enjoy official immunity at the time the alleged conduct took place.
The dismissal of the classified documents case is a landmark event. I have said from the beginning of these cases that the Mar-a-Lago case was the greatest threat to the former president. This case has been dismissed.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 15, 2024
With the case over, the legal campaign against Trump, or the so-called “loafers,” looks decidedly shaky. Trump was convicted in Manhattan of falsifying business records, but many observers view the prosecution as unlawful and the judge as biased, suggesting an appeal is likely to be successful.
As Breitbart News reported in early June, Cannon had scheduled a hearing on the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment, an issue that had been raised by the defense and several outside experts. Amicus curiae (“Friend of the Court”) Brief.
Last month, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Fisher v. United States The Justice Department has argued that Smith’s appointment was likely unconstitutional, saying he abused his power in prosecuting the January 6th defendants under witness tampering laws. Take aim Thomas’ claims, made last week in documents unrelated to the case, have raised questions among legal experts.
Democrats and media pundits have lamented the fact that Judge Cannon chose to hear arguments about the constitutionality of Smith’s appointment. They have even organized a major campaign of ethics complaints against her.
They accuse Cannon of being biased in favor of Trump because she was appointed by him, but more neutral observers have praised her attention to detail and for not approving of Smith’s prosecution and its unorthodox methods.
Smith served as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and was the US attorney in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Obama administration, but left the post during the first year of the Trump administration.
Smith sued Trump in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is located, alleging that Trump mishandled classified documents when he left office. Judge Cannon was skeptical of the fact that Smith convened a grand jury in Washington, D.C., a notoriously anti-Trump jurisdiction, instead of Florida.
It is unclear whether Judge Cannon’s ruling will affect Judge Smith’s case in Washington, where he is prosecuting Trump on charges related to the January 6 attacks.
The “Documents” case brings to a close one of the most unusual and controversial prosecutions in American history, which began with the unprecedented armed raid in August 2022 on Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private residence.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
