Trump snatches another legal victory with the cancellation of the Florida prosecutions

Former Republican President Donald Trump has won Monday another legal victory with the cancellation of the entire federal procedure against him for withholding classified documents after he left the White House.

The Republican presidential candidate in November, who is to be officially inaugurated at the party's convention beginning Monday, was being sued along with two of his personal assistants for his handling of classified documents at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, in Florida (southeast).

Donald Trump welcomed on his Truth Social network “a first step”, calling for the cancellation of the three other criminal proceedings in his against.

Judge Aileen Cannon granted a request from her lawyers and canceled the proceedings, considering the appointment of special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is investigating the case, as illegal.

Without commenting on the merits of the case, she asserts that the appointment and financing of the special prosecutor violate the sections of the Constitution relating to appointments and expenditures .

It is based in particular on the position expressed by the conservative judge of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in the unprecedented decision of the highest court in the country on July 1 recognizing broad criminal immunity for the President of the United States.

Judge Thomas had, in a separate opinion of agreement, challenged the legality of the nomination of Jack Smith in another case, the federal proceedings against Donald Trump for attempts to illegally reverse the results of the 2020 election.

– Appeal or even request for divestment –

Regarding the classified documents, “the court is satisfied that Special Prosecutor Smith's prosecution in this matter violates two pillars of our constitutional order, the role of Congress in appointing officials under the Constitution and the role of Congress in legally authorizing expenses”, wrote Judge Cannon.

The prosecution can nevertheless appeal this decision, or even request the dismissal of the judge, appointed by Donald Trump, as many legal experts suggest.

The former Justice Minister Eric Holder, who served under Democratic President Barack Obama, denounced X as a “totally absurd decision. We must appeal and dismiss this incompetent judge.”

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The Republican President of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, on the other hand, welcomed in a press release “good news for America and for the rule of law”. Calling for national unity after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump on Saturday, he calls for “an end to the witch hunts which have unfairly targeted President Trump”.

Undated photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice of boxes of documents at former President Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – Handout

Donald Trump was accused of having compromised national security by keeping these documents, including military plans or information on nuclear weapons, at home after the end of his presidency, instead of handing them over to the National Archives as required. requires the law.

He was also accused of attempting to destroy evidence in this case. The heaviest charges were punishable by 10 years in prison.

Judge Cannon had already postponed this trial indefinitely, which was initially scheduled to begin on May 20.< /p>

– Historic conviction in New York –

Targeted by four criminal proceedings, Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to get through judgment as late as possible, in any case after the November election against Democratic President Joe Biden.

Convicted on May 30 by the New York courts of “falsification aggravated accountant to conceal a plot to pervert the 2016 election”, he is due to receive his sentence in September.

This first criminal conviction, unprecedented for a former American president , will in all probability be the only one before the vote, especially after the decision of the Supreme Court on July 1.

It referred the procedure to the court of first instance federal government for attempts to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election, to determine which acts are potentially immune from criminal prosecution. It is up to the prosecution to demonstrate that these acts were not when they were carried out in the exercise of his functions.

If he was again elected, Donald Trump could, once inaugurated in January 2025, order an end to federal proceedings against him.

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