The Daily Fuckup

On July 15, 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the federal classified-documents case against Donald Trump after ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unlawful under the Appointments Clause. The decision ended the prosecution in her court, but it did not decide whether the allegations in the indictment were true.

That distinction matters. The ruling rested on how the special counsel was authorized, not on any finding that the records case lacked facts or that the charges were insignificant. In practical terms, Cannon’s order removed the case from the trial track unless and until an appellate court reversed it.

The indictment had accused Trump of retaining sensitive government records after leaving the White House and of obstructing efforts to recover them. Cannon did not weigh those allegations on the merits in the dismissal order. Instead, she concluded that the appointment structure for Smith’s office was improper, and that flaw required dismissal.

The Justice Department said it would appeal. That made the order a major setback for prosecutors, but not necessarily the final word. For Trump, it meant one less federal case heading toward trial and one more court ruling he could cast as proof that the prosecutions against him were being undone before a jury ever got the chance to hear them.