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Former President Donald Trump's confidential document case was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida on Monday (July 15) on the grounds that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the U.S. Constitution.
“In the end, it seems the Executive’s growing comfort in appointing ‘regulatory’ special counsels in the more recent era has followed an ad hoc pattern with little judicial scrutiny,” Judge Aileen Cannon wrote via CNN.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, indefinitely postponed the trial on May 7, 13 days before it was initially scheduled to begin. The trial was rescheduled to start on July 22, CNBC reported at the time.
Trump faced 37 counts of allegations that he retained national defense information, conspired to obstruct justice and made false statements, which he had previously pleaded not guilty to. Judge Cannon's decision to dismiss the case comes two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday (July 13).
Trump claimed that he turned his head to read a chart showing data on illegal immigrants, which happened just as bullets were fired. One spectator, identified as Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed during the incident while two others, David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, were initially critically wounded but have since been upgraded to stable condition. Police identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks late Saturday night.
Crooks, 20, was reportedly on the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards away from the stage and was immediately taken out by Secret Service snipers after opening fire. Trump is scheduled to officially accept the nomination for president during the 2024 Republican National Convention on Thursday (July 18).