Trump’s Classified Documents Case Dismissed in Florida

Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, in Florida, issued a 93-page opinion on July 15 dismissing all 40 counts against Donald Trump of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Her ruling was based on outlier opinions that the appointment of Special Prosecutor was unconstitutional and that his office was being unconstitutionally funded by the U. S. Treasury. Her decision is contrary to all other decisions regarding the office of Special Prosecutor even back to the days of Watergate. She says that the Special Prosecutor could not be appointed without specific legislation from Congress authorizing the appointment and that any candidate for such office would need to be confirmed by the Senate. She also found that Special Prosecutor Jack Smith had been funded by the Treasury Department without Congressional authority in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U. S. Constitution. The Special Prosecutor’s office will appeal this ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. On this edition of “Next Witness…Please,” retired judges Gayle Williams-Byers and Tom Hodson delve into the guts of this decision, explore how unique the decision is and try to project what the “next steps” will be in this case.