Trump's classified documents lawsuit dismissed

Special U.S. Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of former President Donald Trump for allegedly misusing classified information was dismissed on the  grounds that his assignment to the case was unlawful. Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump for allegedly storing classified information at his Florida home after he left the White House. He is also tasked with investigating an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

 "None of the statutes cited as the legal basis for the appointment give the Attorney General broad appointment powers similar to those of lower-ranking officials or  the right to appoint  federal officials with the law enforcement powers that Special Counsel Smith possesses," Judge Eileen Cannon wrote.

Cannon added that Smith's "strained legal arguments, reliance on inconsistent biography, or reliance on extrajudicial authority" failed to persuade the court. Responding to the ruling, President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that "the dismissal of the illegal charges in Florida is only the first step, and should be quickly followed  by the dismissal of  the entire witch hunt." "Let's unite to end the instrumentalization of the justice system and make America great again!" The FBI searched President Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in  Florida in August 2022 and seized several boxes of documents.

According to the Washington Post, some of the materials related to U.S. nuclear secrets, Iran's missile program, and U.S. intelligence activities in China.  

A federal grand jury in Miami, Florida, indicted Trump  in September 2023 for misusing the documents. President Trump pleaded not guilty, claiming that he had done nothing wrong because he was the highest certifying authority.  Court documents unsealed in May of this year revealed that the Department of Justice  authorized the use of "lethal force if necessary" during the raids. President Joe Biden was also investigated for taking classified documents  after he left the White House in 2017.


 As Barack Obama's vice president, he did not actually have the authority to have the files. But special counsel Robert Hur said in February that he would not pursue the case because it was unlikely that a Washington jury would  convict Biden because he appears to be "an old man with a bad memory."  

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that the president has complete immunity from prosecution for any official acts and remains liable for non-official acts, but  courts cannot speculate on motives when making their decisions.  The other lawsuit, filed by Smith against Trump in  federal court in Washington, D.C., remains open for now