Judge dismisses Donald Trump’s classified documents case

Boxes of classified documents were found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

(ABC NEWS) – The classified documents case against former President Donald Trump has been dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, according to court records.

The judge ruled that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional.

“The Superseding Indictment is DISMISSED because Special Counsel Smith’s appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution,” she wrote.

Cannon wrote that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional because it “effectively usurps” the authority of Congress.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.

“The Framers gave Congress a pivotal role in the appointment of principal and inferior officers,” Cannon wrote in the lengthy order. “That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere–whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not.”

“Upon careful study of the foundational challenges raised in the Motion, the Court is convinced that Special Counsel’s Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme–the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law,” Cannon added.

Cannon noted that her ruling does not apply to other jurisdictions, meaning the order may not apply to the special counsel’s Jan. 6 election interference case against Trump.

A spokesperson for the special counsel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The order can be appealed, and other district judges and the D.C. Circuit have upheld the constitutionality of special counsels in previous legal challenges.

If overturned on appeal, the order could also give rise to Smith moving for Cannon to be taken off the case, citing her pattern of unusually favorable rulings that have benefited Trump and raised the eyebrows of legal experts across the political spectrum.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.