Federal judge dismisses special counsel case against Donald Trump

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a storage room at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. U.S. Department of Justice/Getty Image The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump dismissed the case on July 15, 2024. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, was unlawfully appointed to his role and did not have the authority to bring the case. Here’s how the federal government has used special counsels in high-profile investigations over the years, and how Cannon’s ruling, which Smith said he is appealing, would affect ongoing and future cases. A brief history of independent counsels Ensuring impartiality in the U.S. Justice Department can be difficult, as the attorney general is appointed by – and answerable to – a partisan president. This gives presidents the power to try to influence the attorney general to pursue a political agenda. President Richard Nixon did this during the investigation of the Watergate break-in, which threatened to implicate him in criminal acts and end his presidency. On the evening of...