Judge Cannon dismisses classified documents case against Trump in Florida

Michael Wilner

July 15, 2024 at 10:14 a.m.·1 min read

Judge Aileen Cannon has dismissed a federal case against former President Donald Trump over his handling of highly classified documents in Florida, ruling that the Justice Department’s appointment of a special counsel to prosecute the case was in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Trump stood accused of taking some of the most secret documents in the U.S. government’s possession to his Florida home after his presidency, and then scheming to keep them from investigators attempting to recover them.

The special counsel, Jack Smith, has the ability to appeal the case, which had been bogged down by delays in Cannon’s courtroom for over a year before her dismissal order on Monday.

The constitutionality of special counsels has, in the past, been tested and upheld in other courts.

Cannon has served as the U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida since being appointed by Trump in 2020.

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