(NewsReady.com) – US District Judge Aileen Cannon has taken a lot of heat over how she’s handled former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case. After months of delays in the case, the judge has now dismissed all charges. The reason for the dismissal shocked legal experts.
In a 93-page ruling on July 15, the Trump-appointed judge claimed Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional. According to Cannon, Smith’s “position effectively usurps that important legislative authority” by transferring it to Attorney General Merrick Garland who appointed the special counsel. She said it threatened “the structural liberty inherent in the separation of powers.”
Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social, calling the dismissal “the first step” and saying the rest of the cases against him should also be dismissed. He claimed the Democratic Party was conspiring against him and demanded everyone “come together to END all Weaponization of [the] Justice System.” Christopher Kise, the former president’s attorney, said Smith should close his office and “end this unconstitutional abuse of power.”
Republican and Democratic presidents have appointed special counsels to handle politically sensitive cases for decades. Several months ago, a judge in DC upheld the special counsel statute in the case involving Hunter Biden. Trump appointed the prosecutor in that case and the current president’s son was convicted of three felonies.
Cannon’s decision also rejected a 1974 unanimous Supreme Court precedent. In that case, the justices upheld the appointment of a special prosecutor who was seeking to obtain audio tapes made by then-President Richard Nixon. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote that AG has the “power to appoint subordinate officers to assist him in the discharge of his duties.” Of course, that was decades ago and there’s a new court now. At least one justice, Clarence Thomas, has already questioned Smith’s appointment.
Smith’s office vowed to appeal the decision to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the special counsel’s office, said Cannon’s decision “deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts” that determined the attorney general can appoint a special counsel.
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