Florida ruling in favor of former president alleges illegal appointment of prosecutor in case
The judge of the State of Florida (USA), Aileen Cannon, closed this Monday (15.Jul.2024) a process in which former president Donald Trump (Republican) was accused of illegally keeping confidential national security documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, after leaving the White House in 2021.
The decision was based on the claim that the prosecutor in charge of the case, Jack Smith, was appointed illegitimately and did not have the authority to pursue the case. Here is the full document (PDF – 625 kB).
According to Judge Cannon, who was appointed to the position by Trump himself in 2020, US Attorney General Merrick Garland, when appointing Smith in 2022 to oversee investigations involving Trump violated a clause of the Constitution and had no authority to appoint the federal agent.
The judge also noted that the prosecutor’s investigation was improperly funded by funds that Congress set aside in 1980 for independent investigations. The prosecutor’s office can still appeal.
In response, the former president claimed he is innocent. On his profile on the Truth Social network, the Republican wrote that Cannon’s decision should be “just the first step“ and called for the dismissal of all criminal cases against him. “Let’s unite to END all weaponization of our justice system”Trump wrote.
The outcome, which marks a positive point for Trump, comes shortly before the Republican Convention in Milwaukee (USA), this Monday (15.Jul), and 2 days after he suffered a shooting attack at a rally in the city of Butler, in Pennsylvania.
Remember the case
On June 9, 2023, former President Donald Trump faced 37 charges for keeping classified files in his possession after leaving the White House in 2021. The charges include conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding and concealing documents.
Most of the charges laid out in the 49-page indictment concern the intentional withholding of national defense information — a violation of the Espionage Act, which concerns rules on the handling of classified documents.
The documents withheld by Trump included information about the secret U.S. nuclear program and potential vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the federal indictment said. The materials came from the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies, the indictment said. The former president’s top aide, Walt Nauta, was also charged.
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/internacional/juiza-descarta-acusacoes-contra-trump-por-documentos-sigilosos/
