As former President Donald Trump basks in the glory of being formally chosen this week as the Republican nominee for president after surviving a weekend assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, the 45th president of the United States can also revel in a remarkable court victory.
Monday morning, the Florida federal judge overseeing the classified documents charges against Trump dismissed the case on grounds that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed.
In the 93-page ruling, Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump in 2020, cited that Smith’s appointment “violates the appointment clause of the United States Constitution.”
Cannon also added that Smith’s use of a “permanent indefinite appropriation also violates the appropriations clause” of the US Constitution.
“No one could have foreseen how this case unfolded and unraveled in the hands of Judge Cannon,” explained Professor Robert Jarvis in response to the dismissal. Jarvis teaches constitutional law at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida.
On Monday, special counsel Jack Smith’s office announced it would appeal the order. But Jarvis believes while an appeal could result in a higher court eventually overturning the decision, the case would likely land in the hands of a conservative Supreme Court. As a result, he believes the Department of Justice (DOJ) should consider re-filing the case somewhere else.
“I’m sure that Jack Smith wishes he had never filed in Florida and I’m sure he wishes he filed in DC. In an odd and perverse way, this decision gives him a do-over by saying, OK, we’ll file using a US attorney, and we’ll go to DC, or we’ll go to New York or New Jersey.
That would solve the constitutional concerns Judge Cannon had, and it would also allow Jack Smith to get a different judge on the case,” Jarvis explained.
Jarvis also said Monday’s ruling all but guarantees any new case wouldn’t be heard until after the 2024 presidential election.
Trump’s classified documents case has lingered over the ex-President since 2022 when the DOJ found boxes of classified presidential records stored in plain sight inside Trump’s Palm Beach estate after getting a tip from the National Archives. The charges mounted against Trump over the missing records also included charges for allegedly obstructing the federal government’s efforts to retrieve the records back.
Some of the records contained the markings “confidential,” “secret,” and top secret,” with investigators stating disclosure of these records “could be expected to result in damage to national security,” according to the original indictment.
While Trump and his supporters were quick to call the indictment “an attack by radical left democrats,” Jarvis believes it was the strongest of the criminal cases facing the former president.
“This should have been an open and shut case,” he told reporter LaGrone Monday.
In response to the Judge’s ruling, Trump issued a brief statement on social media, adding a nod to his most recent close call in Pennsylvania.
“As we move forward in uniting our nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the lawless indictment in Florida should be just the first step…let us come together to end all weaponization of our justice system and make America great again!”
