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Classified docs case dismissal means ‘greatest' legal 'threat’ to Trump is ‘gone’: experts

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Classified docs case dismissal means ‘greatest' legal 'threat’ to Trump is ‘gone’: experts

A Florida judge dismissed the case against former President Trump for the handling of classified documents, and some legal experts are calling it a “strongly reasoned” opinion that eliminates the “greatest legal threat” to the presumptive 2024 GOP just ahead of the Republican National Convention. 

On Monday, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon issued a 93-page opinion dismissing the case on the grounds that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith to oversee the case was unconstitutional. 

“Upon careful study of the foundational challenges raised in the Motion, the Court is convinced that Special Counsel’s Smith’s prosecution of this action breaches two structural cornerstones of our constitutional scheme – the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers, and the role of Congress in authorizing expenditures by law,” Cannon wrote. 

Jonathan Turley, a defense attorney and law professor at George Washington University, told Fox News Monday that “of all of the cases that could be dismissed, this would be at the top of the list. This was the greatest threat. And for now, at least, it’s gone.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CASE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FORMER REAGAN AG SAYS

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Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to give remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Trump had faced charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his possession of classified materials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. He pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony counts from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements

John Malcolm, a former federal prosecutor and director of the Ed Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, said that the case brought by Smith was the “most serious of the four criminal cases that were filed against him.” 

A representative for Smith did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment and whether the Justice Department plans to appeal the decision. 

JUDGE DISMISSES TRUMP’S FLORIDA CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

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Former President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida was searched by the FBI in 2022. (Getty Images)

John Yoo, a constitutional attorney, told Fox News Digital that the question of the constitutionality of special counsel has been debated for over 20 years. “We’ve been thinking and talking about this, these people who specialize in the Appointments Clause. The courts have generally been deferential to the Justice Department and how they want to appoint different lawyers.” 

“But I think because of how aggressive Jack Smith has been, he prompted close scrutiny from the courts,” said Yoo. 

Ed Meese, the former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, filed a number of amicus briefs in Jack Smith’s cases against Trump arguing that Smith is “improperly appointed” and  “has no more authority to represent the United States in this Court than Bryce Harper, Taylor Swift, or Jeff Bezos.” 

While Garland cited as statutory authority for this appointment, Meese argued that “none of those statutes, nor any other statutory or constitutional provisions, remotely authorized the appointment by the Attorney General of a private citizen to receive extraordinary criminal law enforcement power under the title of Special Counsel.”

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“Second, even if one overlooks the absence of statutory authority for the position, there is no statute specifically authorizing the Attorney General, rather than the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such a Special Counsel,” the former AG wrote. 

U.S. President Donald Trump awards the National Medal of Freedom to former Attorney General Edwin Meese during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House October 08, 2019 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Meese said “We are very glad that the court moved to emphasize the importance of the Constitution in making sure that the special counsel’s appointment constitutional standards.”

“I congratulate Judge Cannon for her courage and constitutional ability,” he said. 

Yoo said Cannon’s decision is “a very thorough, strongly reasoned, persuasive opinion [that] goes through the history of special counsels and all the statutes that are involved.”

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“This decision is very well-reasoned and very well-written,” said John Shu, a constitutional attorney who served in both Bush administrations. “It’s not surprising because Congress intentionally allowed the independent counsel statute, which the Supreme Court found constitutional, to lapse, and they never replaced or amended it.”
 
“And thus Congress, through it’s inaction, just allowed the regulatory agency, in this case the DOJ, to go ahead and promulgate its own regulations in place of an actual enabling statute,” he explained.

LUNA’S BID TO FORCE GARLAND TO HAND OVER BIDEN-HUR TAPES FAILS IN HOUSE

Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the historically Democratic South Bronx on May 23, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

 Monday’s decision is the latest in a string of legal victories for the former president. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that he and future presidents are granted limited immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. That decision directly impacted Smith’s separate case against Trump related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. 

In a separate concurrence to the immunity decision, Justice Clarence Thomas looked to “highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure” – the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel. 

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“In this case, there has been much discussion about ensuring that a President ‘is not above the law.’ But, as the Court explains, the President’s immunity from prosecution for his official acts is the law. The Constitution provides for ‘an energetic executive,’ because such an Executive is ‘essential to… the security of liberty,’” Thomas wrote. 

“Respecting the protections that the Constitution provides for the Office of the Presidency secures liberty. In that same vein, the Constitution also secures liberty by separating the powers to create and fill offices. And, there are serious questions whether the Attorney General has violated that structure by creating an office of the Special Counsel that has not been established by law,” Thomas said, adding that “[t]hose questions must be answered before this prosecution can proceed.”

Thomas explained that in this case, the attorney general “purported to appoint a private citizen as Special Counsel to prosecute a former President on behalf of the United States.” 

“But, I am not sure that any office for the Special Counsel has been ‘established by Law,’ as the Constitution requires. By requiring that Congress create federal offices ‘by Law,’ the Constitution imposes an important check against the President – he cannot create offices at his pleasure,” he said. 

Should the Justice Department appeal Cannon’s decision, the Supreme Court could eventually be petitioned to weigh in on the matter. 

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“All of these cases seem to be collapsing of their own weight, and it’s because of lawfare,” said Jim Trusty, a former federal prosector and former lawyer for President Trump. 

“This is the price of lawfare when you create different crimes and different investigative approaches, and you do it all in the name of self-righteousness that Donald Trump needs to be stopped, which is really the philosophy behind all these prosecutions.”  

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said. 

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

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Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day. 

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later. 

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing. 

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding. 

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported. 

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REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE FOR MURDER TIED TO BRUTAL JAIL ASSAULT, ESCAPE HOURS AFTER ROBBERY

Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia.  (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said. 

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

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Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

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Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

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Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body. 

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.   

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country. 

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The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger  (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. 

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go. 

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE. 

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials. 

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Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

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Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said. 

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital. 

During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said. 

Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said.  (Getty Images )

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“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. 

“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”

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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)

Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said. 

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His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education. 

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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer. 

Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE. 

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