Judge pauses deadlines in Trump classified documents case over immunity questions
NPR Online NewsJul 21
Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Docs Case
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Above: Former Pres. Donald Trump during the CNN Presidential Debate last month in Atlanta, Georgia. Image copyright: Justin Sullivan/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
US Judge Aileen Cannon ruled Monday that the US Dept. of Justice's (DOJ) appointment of Jack Smith as a special counsel to probe former Pres. Donald Trump's handling of classified documents was "unlawful" and she dismissed the case.
Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment violated the Constitution's "Appointments Clause," which requires the appointments of "Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States" to be confirmed by the Senate.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
It appears Cannon, a Trump appointee, is thanking him through all her recent rulings in his favor. Trump was caught red-handed hiding classified documents, but Cannon initially delayed the trial and now has dismissed the case. Conservative-leaning appeals court judges have reversed her in the past, so the inexperienced Cannon may rightly be overruled again.
Pro-Trump narrative
Cannon's ruling doesn't take Trump under consideration, it upholds the Constitution. Smith's office wasn't created by Congress nor was he nominated by the president to receive Senate approval — thus he's been illegally investigating Trump. The Biden administration's weaponization of the DOJ has again hit a snag.
