The Supreme Court will likely reinstate Donald Trump's classified documents indictment, a former federal prosecutor has said.
On July 15, Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case after ruling that prosecutor Jack Smith had been illegally appointed as special counsel.
Before the dismissal, Trump faced 40 federal charges in Cannon's court over his alleged handling of sensitive materials—which were seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida—after he left the White House in January 2021. He was also accused of obstructing efforts by federal authorities to retrieve them. Trump had pleaded not guilty and has said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, a law firm in California, said he was "stunned" when Cannon threw out the case against Trump—a decision that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing.
"Unfortunately, this seems to be another bad ruling by a bad judge, and I wouldn't be surprised if her order is overturned by the 11th Circuit, which would be her third reversal in the Trump case," he said.
"Even in the unlikely event that the 11th Circuit affirms, that would create a circuit split, and the Supreme Court would likely hear the case," Rahmani continued.
He said that Justice Clarence Thomas is the only Supreme Court justice who seems persuaded by the type of "fringe legal argument" Cannon has articulated.
On July 1, when the Supreme Court ruled on Trump's presidential immunity, Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion that Smith had been illegally appointed as special counsel.
Newsweek has contacted Trump's attorney and Cannon's office for comment via email.
Special counsels are independent prosecutors who are typically appointed when the government has a conflict of interest.
Federal appeals courts have upheld the government's right to appoint special counsels many times since the issue was first tested during the investigation of President Richard Nixon.
Rahmani said: "Cannon ruled that Smith's appointment was an unconstitutional violation of the appointments and appropriation clauses of the Constitution. Even though Cannon says it's limited to this case, her ruling casts doubt upon the appointment of special counsels in other cases, most notably Hunter Biden's."
In June, a Delaware jury found Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, guilty on three charges stemming from his purchase of a revolver in 2018. His case was prosecuted by special counsel David Weiss.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more
