A Florida judge appointed by Donald Trump has dismissed the criminal case against the former president on charges of mishandling top secret documents, ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed.
The decision is a major victory for Republican presidential candidate Trump, who had been accused of endangering national security after leaving the White House.
The decision comes days after an assassin’s bullets flew by him during a campaign rally, streaking the Republican presidential candidate’s blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Hours after the incident, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had identified the shooter in the assassination attempt as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, US media reported early on Sunday.
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon made her ruling after lawyers for the 78-year-old argued for a partial stay of proceedings to allow for an assessment of a Supreme Court ruling that a former president has broad immunity from prosecution.
“Former president Trump’s motion to dismiss indictment based on the unlawful appointment and funding of Special Counsel Jack Smith is granted,” Aileen wrote in her order.
In a 93-page opinion, Cannon said Smith’s appointment and funding usurped the role of Congress.
“The court is convinced that Special Counsel 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,” she concluded.
Election looms
She did not make a ruling on the merits of the case.
But the fact she came to a decision after being accused by critics of slow-walking the case, opens the door for prosecutors to appeal and potentially have it re-heard by another judge.
The clock, however, is ticking down to the November election.
The ruling provides further momentum for Trump who is set to be anointed as his party’s official election candidate at the Republican National Convention this week.
Trump called for all court cases against him to be dropped, after the judge dismissed the case against him.
“This dismissal of the lawless indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of all the witch hunts,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He was facing 31 counts of “willful retention of national defence information”, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He also faced charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Trump allegedly kept classified documents — which included records from the Pentagon and CIA — unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home and thwarted efforts to retrieve them.
The material included secret nuclear and defence documents, according to prosecutors.
Republicans contended the prosecution was unfair and selective after a federal prosecutor in February opted not to pursue charges against President Joe Biden who kept some classified material at his home after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.
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