Special Counsel Jack Smith Appeals Dismissal of Trump Classified Documents Case

Cannon on Monday dismissed the case against Trump and two co-defendants, ruling that Smith’s appointment to prosecute cases involving the former president violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump was accused in the case filed in the Southern District of Florida of keeping hundreds of classified government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving the White House in January 2021 and trying to hide them from government officials who sought their return.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Smith, said Wednesday: “We have no comment beyond the matter itself at this time.”

Carr said Monday that Cannon’s dismissal of the case “departs from the uniform conclusion of all
“Previous courts have considered the question whether the attorney general is legally authorized to appoint a special prosecutor.”

The appeal will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, regardless of what the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decides.

Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee, is separately charged by Smith in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., with four felonies related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

If Trump is elected in November, he could order his attorney general to drop federal charges against him.

In her ruling Monday, Cannon said Smith’s nomination was illegal because the Constitution requires that “officers of the United States” be appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She also found that unlimited funding for Smith’s attorney’s office violated the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause.