Judge Aileen Cannon Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case, Citing Brief Filed by Schaerr-Jaffe Attorneys

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon agreed with defense attorneys that Jack Smith lacked the legal authority to prosecute Donald Trump for allegedly stealing classified documents, dismissing the case against the former president.

In her order, Judge Cannon cited the amici curiae brief filed by Schaerr-Jaffe founding partner Gene Schaerr and attorneys Edward H. Trent and Justin A. Miller, seven times. The brief was filed on behalf of former United States Attorneys General Edwin Meese III and Michael B. Mukasey and Law Professors Steven Calabresi and Gary Lawson, along with Citizens United, and the Citizens United Foundation.

“The implications of the Appointments Clause issue here are nothing short of historic, and it is imperative that no former President of this Nation—especially one who is the presumptive opposition-party candidate to become President once again—go to trial and risk conviction of a crime if his prosecutor is not even authorized to speak for the United States,” the brief stated.

Legal experts argued Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause when he appointed Jack Smith as Special Counsel without Senate approval, undermining the authority of Congress.

“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 wrote in her order that granted the defense team’s request to dismiss the case.