Florida judge dismisses classified documents case against Trump, ruling appointment of Jack Smith was unconstitutional

The federal judge overseeing former President Trump's criminal case for hoarding classified documents in Mar-a-Lago has dismissed the charges against him.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon — who was appointed to the bench by Trump while he was president — ruled that the appointment of Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the prosecution, was unconstitutional.

The case was widely perceived to be the most straightforward of Trump's four criminal cases. Smith alleged that Trump took documents containing government secrets when he left the White House in January of 2021, storing many of them at his Mar-a-Lago club, where he lives.

Trump then repeatedly stonewalled federal agencies who tried to get the documents back, and directed his employees to lie and mislead federal investigators, prosecutors allege — leading to a dramatic FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

Cannon's 93-page ruling Monday doesn't call any of those events into question. Rather, she ruled that the appointment of Smith violated the US Constitition's appointments clause. His Special Counsel role was created by Justice Department regulations. But someone with his legal powers needs to be confirmed by the US Senate, she wrote.

The Justice Department and campaigns for Trump and President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story is breaking and will be updated.