How Trump Beat the Classified Docs Case

• The case was dismissed due to the unconstitutional appointment of special counsel Jack Smith

• The DOJ is appealing the decision, though it could be brought again

• The legal reasoning appears to have been influenced by Justice Clarence Thomas

The story

Amid a rapid news cycle consumed with Democratic Party chaos and an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the former president gained a massive legal win on Monday. Florida Judge Aileen Cannondismissed the case against Trump that potentially threatened him with a lengthy jail sentence.

Trump was initially indicted on charges of retaining classified documents after he had left the White House and for refusing to turn them back over when requested. This refusal led to the FBI raiding Mar-a-Lago to retake the files.

After initially postponing the trial, likely until after the November election, Judge Cannon took the drastic step of dismissing the case outright. She ruled that Congress had not granted Attorney General Merrick Garland the authority to appoint special counsel Jack Smith, making Smith unauthorized to bring any charges against Trump. Additionally, Cannon found that Congress did not allocate funds for Smith’s investigation as mandated by federal law.

The sides

President Biden’s Department of Justice vowed to appeal Judge Cannon’s decision by bringing the matter to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court, which has already reversed two of her rulings.

Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to avoid the conflict of the Biden administration investigating his main political rival in the upcoming presidential race. However, the administration asserts that any conflict will be resolved after the election.

Georgetown law professor Steve Vladecksaid the ruling is “wrong six ways from Sunday” and is convinced it will be overturned on appeal. Vladeck is among other legal experts who believe that Cannon’s decision contradicts previous legal rulings that have permitted special counsel appointments without Congress’s approval.

Judge Cannon disputed these claims, saying the precedent showed at most “an ad hoc, inconsistent practice of naming prosecutors from both inside and outside of government … who possessed wildly variant degrees of power and autonomy.”

Donald Trump praised the ruling, saying it “should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) likewise celebrated the dismissal, as did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who stated, “Jack Smith and the weaponized DOJ has been dealt a major blow.”

Beyond the headlines

An important reason for the confusion surrounding the special counsel’s appointment is that, uniquely in the United States, the attorney general serves both as a cabinet member to the president and as the chief prosecution officer. In many other countries, these two roles are kept separate.

Although appointing a special counsel to handle the prosecution was appropriate, the judge found bypassing Congress to be unconstitutional.

Judge Cannon is being ridiculed for her decision to dismiss the case, in no small part because she was appointed by Donald Trump. However, far from springing out of nowhere, Cannon’s reasoning may have been influenced by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s key concurrence when the high court ruled on presidential immunity.

Thomas stated that the president “cannot create offices at his pleasure” and that “If there is no law establishing the office that the Special Counsel occupies, then he cannot proceed with this prosecution.” This may have given Judge Cannon the green light to dismiss the case, providing her with one plausible legal explanation from a higher court.

In her 93-page opinion, Judge Cannon did not address the merits of the case. And last month, she appeared skeptical of the Trump team’s request to dismiss evidence obtained by the FBI during their raid at Mar-a-Lago.

Ultimately, the question of Smith's appointment has valid arguments on both sides, as Judge Cannon noted in her thorough opinion. While there's a chance her decision could be overturned on appeal, it seems likely this issue will end up before the Supreme Court.

Why it matters

The most threatening legal case for the former president was dismissed on the judge’s opinion that the special counsel’s appointment was not in keeping with America’s history and tradition. While at least a short-term win for Trump, it is still possible that the case may be resurrected with a new special counsel appointment.

In the best-case scenario for Donald Trump, the appeal to overturn Judge Cannon’s ruling will be rejected; and even if the appeal succeeds, it is highly unlikely the case will proceed before the November election. As Trump runs for re-election and deals with several other legal cases, this one at least seems to be under control.