George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Monday that former President Donald Trump defeated the most consequential legal case against him following a decision by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Cannon dismissed the classified documents case Monday by ruling special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution. The judge argued the Constitution requires Congress to either pass legislation allowing for a U.S. Attorney General to appoint a special counsel, or for the said individual to be nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Turley said the classified documents case is the most serious of the four indictments handed down against Trump in the past year, making the dismissal a major win for the former president.
“If you were to have one case dismissed, if you had to have a wishlist, this would be it,” Turley said. “I’ve said from the beginning, Florida was the greatest threat to Donald Trump. Here, Smith was relying on established law, and many of the problems we see in the other cases were not as evident here. It didn’t mean there wasn’t a lead pipe synch, it didn’t mean it didn’t have problems, but this is the one that you would want dismissed. And for now, it’s gone.”
‘Second Near Miss In 48 Hours’: Jonathan Turley Says Most Consequential Case Against Trump Is Now Out The Window pic.twitter.com/piu7Py8xcU
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Turley said he believes Smith will appeal the case to the 11th Circuit and will eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said the appeals process will lack time as the courts will be unable to make a decision before the election or inauguration in January 2025, presumably if Trump wins.
Turley further argued it is unknown whether the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Cannon’s dismissal, given how many legal scholars and judges have been divided on this issue. (RELATED: ‘Huge Win For Donald Trump’: Turley Says Classified Docs Case Was An ‘Overreach’ By Jack Smith)
“People are attacking Judge Cannon viciously, often citing the fact that she was a Trump appointee, ignoring the fact that Trump appointees have regularly ruled against the former president. Those attacks are probably going to increase. But for now, this is a great day. From the perspective of Donald Trump, this is the second near miss in 48 hours. This is the one they were most worried about,” Turley said.
The first near miss refers to the assassination attempt on Trump at his Saturday rally in Pennsylvania, killing one and leaving two others injured. Trump bled from his right ear as the shooter opened fire, leading Secret Service agents to immediately surround and escort him from the podium.
Smith charged Trump in June 2023 with a 37-count indictment, including 31 counts of Espionage Act violations, relating to the storage of over 300 pages of classified documents in the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump’s team filed a motion to dismiss the case in February.
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