A federal appeals court agreed to dismiss the Mar-a-Lago documents case, ending an appeal of a decision toppling special counsel Jack Smith and effectively ending the criminal case against President Trump’s two co-defendants.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to dismiss the case at the request of the Trump Justice Department, a reversal from the stance under the Biden administration, which was challenging a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon that found Smith was unlawfully appointed.
Under President Biden, prosecutors argued that Cannon ignored 50 years of precedent on the authority and appointment of special counsels, including a Supreme Court ruling.
Attorney General Pam Bondi last week praised Cannon’s ruling, calling the judge “brilliant” while adding that special counsels won’t be used “constantly” under her leadership.
Bondi during her confirmation declined to say whether she would appoint a special counsel to investigate Trump if he was accused of wrongdoing.
The approval of the motion also brings to an end the ongoing criminal case against valet Walt Nauta and property manager Carlos de Olveira, who were accused of aiding Trump as he sought to conceal hundreds of documents from his presidency, including 300 with classified markings, from the Justice Department and his own attorney.
The dismissal is likely to spur another push by Democrats to review the volume of Smith’s report reviewing the Mar-a-Lago case. Smith’s volume dealing with Jan. 6 has already been released, but former Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed not to release the Mar-a-Lago volume given that if the 11th Circuit sided with prosecutors, the case against the two men would resume.
Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee recently requested the Mar-a-Lago volume, arguing it was key to their review of Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI.
Patel testified before a grand jury in the case after claiming he saw Trump declassify some documents during his first term in office.
