America in Brief: Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Documents Case

A federal judge has dismissed former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case, finding that Special Council Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed. President Trump was indicted by Mr. Smith for allegedly illegally holding onto classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after leaving office. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, who was assigned the case in Florida, argued in a July 15 order that Mr. Smith, who had been appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, did not go through the proper appointee procedure, and therefore his appointment was unconstitutional. Under proper procedure, officers must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, or appointed to a position by Congress and signed into law by the president. Mr. Smith’s appointment was not done under either of these procedures, and therefore “the Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED,” Judge Cannon ruled....