Judge Dismisses Criminal Classified Documents Case Against Donald Trump; Special Counsel Will Appeal — Update

deadline.com:

UPDATE: Special Counsel Jack Smith will appear a judge’s order dismissing the classified documents case against Donald Trump.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Smith, said in a statement to reporters, “The dismissal of the case deviates from the uniform conclusion of all previous courts to have considered the issue that the Attorney General is statutorily authorized to appoint a special counsel.

The Justice Department has authorized the Special Counsel to appeal the court’s order.” PREVIOUSLY: A federal judge Monday tossed out the criminal classified documents case against Donald Trump, ruling that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the appointments clause of the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued the ruling today. Trump had been charged with withholding documents and obstructing justice after he left the White House. “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 authorizing expenditures by law,” Cannon wrote. “The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers.