A US federal judge today dismissed the criminal case against former President Donald Trump over mishandling classified documents, Reuters reported and Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
This is another significant legal victory for the Republican presidential candidate, who is seeking to return to the White House after the US Supreme Court on July 1 ruled in favor of his immunity from prosecution, Reuters notes.
The decision of Judge Eileen Cannon, who was appointed to the state of Florida by Trump, was based on doubts about the legality of the appointment of the special prosecutor in the case of Jack Smith, according to the AP. The lawyers of the former US president claim that Smith was illegally appointed and his office was illegally funded by the US Department of Justice.
According to the defense, he did not have the authority to bring this case against Trump, Reuters explains. Federal Judge Cannon granted the defense's motion to dismiss the case.
Prosecutors will likely appeal Judge Cannon's decision. In other cases, US courts have repeatedly recognized the Justice Department's right to appoint special prosecutors to investigate political privacy cases.
However, Cannon's current decision casts doubt on the investigation, which poses a serious threat to Trump's election campaign, Reuters notes. At the same time, Smith is also a prosecutor in the case against the Republican Party challenger for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. However, this case has not yet been contested by Trump's lawyers.
Trump's case, dismissed today, included 40 federal charges of keeping classified national security documents at his Mar a Lago Florida estate after he leaves office in 2021 and obstructing the US government's efforts to get them back.
Trump's attorneys challenged the legal basis for U.S. Attorney General and Attorney General Merrick Garland's 2022 decision to appoint Smith as special prosecutor in the anti-Trump case. The defense argued that the appointment violated the US Constitution because his tenure was not opened by the US Congress following approval by the Senate (the upper house).
Lawyers from Smith's office disputed the defense's claims, arguing that there is a long-established practice of using special prosecutors for politically sensitive investigations, Reuters reported, noting that it was another ruling by Judge Cannon in favor of Trump. .