WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement today after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed a federal indictment against former President Donald Trump centering on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents:
“Judge Cannon’s conclusion that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s tenure violates the Appointments and Appropriations Clauses misinterprets the Constitution’s text, departs from a half-century of established precedent, and defies common sense. Even as the Supreme Court vastly expanded presidential powers in its immunity decision earlier this month, only one justice – Clarence Thomas – so much as broached the theory that Judge Cannon relies on in her ruling. Indeed, the Supreme Court affirmatively permitted Special Counsel Smith’s prosecution of former President Trump in that case to continue – something the court would not have allowed if the prosecution was constitutionally flawed. I expect that Special Counsel Smith will promptly appeal this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and that this ruling by the district court will be overturned, given decades of precedent.”
Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.