A US judge has dismissed criminal proceedings against Donald Trump accusing him of illegally withholding confidential documents, giving the former president another important legal victory on his way back to the White House.
Trump-nominated Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, was improperly appointed to office and did not have the authority to bring the case to trial.
This was another major legal victory for Trump after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that, as a former president, he enjoyed immunity from prosecution for many of his official actions.
The prosecution will likely appeal the verdict.
In other cases, courts have repeatedly affirmed the authority of the U.S. Department of Justice to appoint special prosecutors to conduct certain politically sensitive investigations.
But Cannon’s ruling calls into question the future of the case, which once posed a serious legal threat to Trump.
Smith is also suing Trump in federal court in Washington, DC, over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, but his lawyers have not similarly challenged the special counsel in that case.
In the documents case, Trump was accused of knowingly storing sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago social club after leaving office and obstructing government efforts to get the material back.
Two other people – Trump’s personal adviser Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Olivera – were also charged with obstructing the investigation.
Trump’s lawyers questioned the legal basis for Attorney General Merrick Garland’s 2022 decision to appoint Smith to lead the investigation into Trump.
They argued that the appointment was a violation of the U.S. Constitution because his office was not created by Congress and he was not confirmed by the Senate.
Lawyers from Smith’s firm denied Trump’s allegations, arguing that it was common practice to appoint special prosecutors in politically sensitive investigations.
Garland appointed Smith, a prosecutor specializing in public corruption and international war crimes, to give the investigation into Trump under the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden a degree of independence from the Justice Department.