Florida Judge Aileen Cannon has dismissed the case against Donald Trump for the theft of State secrets carried out by the former President of the United States when leaving the White House. Cannon's decision - whose sympathies for Trump have been evident since the beginning of the case - closes, at least for the moment, the most serious legal front against the former president, which is a huge victory for Trump.
Not only because of the type of crimes he was accused of, but also due to the abundance of evidence - including video recordings and testimonies from Mar-a-Lago employees, the former president's residence - that proved how Trump allegedly took boxes of documents.
The basis of Cannon's decision is an interpretation of the law that had not been considered before, and was raised solely by Judge Clarence Thomas, the most Trump-supportive of the Court, in the ruling where he established broad legal immunity for the president.
According to Thomas, the appointment of a special prosecutor - in this case Jack Smith - is the responsibility of the US Congress, which also must handle its budget allocation. The opinion was not taken seriously by anyone, except Cannon. Thomas's wife, Ginnie, is one of the leaders of Project 2025, which aims to streamline the US Public Administration if Donald Trump wins, to reduce the influence of independent officials in favor of political appointees.
The Mar-a-Lago papers case
In June 2023, a federal jury in Florida charged Trump with 37 counts related to the confidential documents he took to his country club and residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida when he left the Presidency in January 2021. According to the indictment, he stored these documents in showers, toilets, his bedroom, an office, the basement, and on the bandstand in the ballroom of the club. During that time, the club hosted about 150 events attended by thousands of people.
Among the accusations were withholding national security secrets and obstructing government efforts to recover the files. Three additional charges were later added against Trump.