Florida Judge Dismisses Donald Trump’s Classified Documents Case
Former U.S.President Donald Trump (L), 2014. Photo: X/ @BeckermanJosh
July 15, 2024 Hour: 12:37 pm
Judge Cannon argued that the prosecutor in charge of the investigation was not legally appointed.
On Monday, Florida Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in which former President Donald Trump was accused of taking confidential documents from the White House.
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The ruling, which comes two days after an assassination attempt on Trump while he was giving a rally in Butler, represents a legal victory for the former president. This is the first time that one of the four criminal cases against Trump has been completely dismissed.
Cannon, who was nominated as a judge during the Trump administration, argued that the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Jack Smith, was not legally appointed, which violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
The federal judge noted in a 93-page opinion that Smith’s appointment did not follow the usual procedures, including Senate confirmation.
She added that Congress has a fundamental role in the appointment of special officials and that “this role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or delegated to other places, whether in this case or another, whether in times of greater national need or not.”
So far, neither the Department of Justice nor Attorney General Merrick Garland have commented on the Florida judge’s decision. However, it is expected that they will appeal the decision in a case in which Trump was accused of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office and then obstructing repeated government efforts to recover them.
The issue of the legality of Smith’s appointment had already been raised by the former president’s lawyers during the hearings, to which the special prosecutor’s team argued that even if this claim were considered, it should not merit the complete dismissal of the case.
The decision comes on the first day of the Republican convention where Trump’s nomination will be made official. It is expected that he will announce his vice-presidential candidate for the presidential elections.
Through his own social network, Truth, the Republican politician celebrated the judge’s decision and stated that all criminal and civil cases against him should be dismissed for the sake of “national unity.” Currently, Trump still faces other trials in Washington, Atlanta, and New York.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE