Trump’s classified documents case dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon

The federal judge overseeing the classified documents charges against former president Donald Trump has dismissed the indictment on the grounds that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed, according to a court filing Monday.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ruling is a remarkable win for Trump, whose lawyers have thrown longshot argument after longshot argument to dismiss the case. Other courts have rejected similar arguments to the one that he made in Florida about the legality of Smith’s appointment.

Even if Cannon is later overruled by a higher court, the decision to dismiss Trump’s indictment adds to a string of legal victories for him in recent weeks, including a sweeping Supreme Court ruling that gives former presidents broad immunity for their official acts while in office.

Trump’s legal team has long considered the classified document case to be the strongest of the four criminal cases against him — in part because the acts in question mostly occurred after he left the White House — and the one they were most worried about.