Trump celebrates dismissal, calls for remaining cases to follow suit
Former President Trump celebrated the dismissal of the classified documents case against him Monday and said all other cases should follow suit.
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform on Monday.
Trump went on to specify each case he would like dismissed — from the federal indictment related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, to the election-related racketeering case in Georgia.
Trump also called for the dismissal of his cases in New York, including civil cases that already went to trial, and the criminal case that found Trump guilty of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to conceal potentially damaging information from the public ahead of the 2016 election. Trump still awaits sentencing in that case.
“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!” Trump added in his post Monday.
The former president’s statement came moments after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon tossed the criminal charges accusing him of mishandling classified information and obstructing the government’s effort to retrieve those records after he left the White House.
Cannon ruled special counsel Jack Smith was not lawfully appointed, in a major victory to Trump. The move marked the first time one of his four criminal cases has been dismissed entirely.
Cannon ruled that no federal law authorized Smith’s appointment.
“The bottom line is this,” Cannon wrote in a 93-page ruling. “The Appointments Clause is a critical constitutional restriction stemming from the separation of powers, and it gives to Congress a considered role in determining the propriety of vesting appointment power for inferior officers.”
“The Special Counsel’s position effectively usurps that important legislative authority, transferring it to a Head of Department, and in the process threatening the structural liberty inherent in the separation of powers.”
Cannon said that, after “careful study,” she determined no legal statute grants an attorney general authority to appoint a federal officer with the “kind of prosecutorial power wielded by Special Counsel Smith.”
Trump also celebrated the case's dismissal in a phone interview Monday morning reported on Fox News's "America's Newsroom."
“I am thrilled that a judge had the courage and wisdom to do this," Trump said, according to Fox News's Bret Baier. "This has big, big implications, not just for this case, but for other cases. The Special Counsel worked with everyone to try to take me down. This is a big, big deal. It only makes this convention more positive. This will be an amazing week."
The decision comes just days after an attempted assassination against the former president during a rally in Pennsylvania. Both Trump and President Biden, his presumptive opponent in November's election, have called on the country to unite after the shooting.
Cannon's ruling also came as the Republican National Convention was beginning in Milwaukee, where Trump is expected to announce his vice presidential pick Monday.
Updated at 11:59 a.m. ET