Washington: Donald Trump will no longer face trial for mishandling classified documents after a federal judge he appointed threw out the case, ruling that the prosecutor overseeing the charges was improperly appointed.
In a major win for the former US president days after his attempted assassination, Judge Aileen Cannon – who was appointed under Trump’s administration – filed a court ruling on Monday dismissing the charges.
The move is the second significant legal victory for Trump in as many weeks, following the US Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidents and ex-presidents substantial immunity from being prosecuted for official acts that took place while in office.
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice shows documents seized during the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.Credit: AP
Conversely, it is a major blow for Special Counsel Jack Smith, the former war crimes prosecutor who charged Trump last year after highly sensitive documents were found at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Those documents included information relating to nuclear programs and military vulnerabilities, and to intelligence that should have only been shared with the “Five Eyes” countries, including Australia.
“Upon careful study of the foundational challenges raised in the motion, the court is convinced that Special Counsel’s Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme – the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorising expenditures by law,” Cannon concluded in her 93-page order.
Special Counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors have laboured to avoid any hint of political motivation.Credit: Bloomberg
Smith still has the option of appealing Cannon’s decision, which legal experts have slammed. The Trump-appointed judge has long been criticised for making rulings that appear to favour the former president. She has also been accused of unnecessarily delaying the case with long, drawn-out proceedings.
In response to the decision, Noah Bookbinder, a former federal prosecutor and president of Citizens for Responsible Ethics said: “This is a lawless, outlier decision with no basis in statute or case law. It is deeply dangerous for accountability and checks and balances going forward. This decision should and assuredly will be appealed immediately.”