The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the case against elected president Donald Trump on Tuesday regarding the mishandling of classified documents found at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in 2021.
The decision, made by the Atlanta Court of Appeals, came after a request submitted by special prosecutor Jack Smith, who had argued for the dismissal of the case, citing that the policy of the Department of Justice (DOJ) prevents the prosecution of a sitting president for certain offenses, reported the EFE agency.
In a brief statement, the court announced that it granted the motion to dismiss, which affects only Trump, and not the other two defendants in this case: Waltine Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira. They will continue to face charges related to the handling of confidential documents.
Prosecutor Smith had requested the dismissal of this case and another related to the attempt to interfere with the results of the 2020 elections.
In the case of the classified documents, Trump was accused of illegally retaining confidential materials after leaving the White House in 2021, as well as obstruction of justice.
However, the prosecutor argued that, according to DOJ regulations, a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, and since Trump has been elected again, that regulation takes precedence.
Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, in a Washington court, also accepted on Monday the request to dismiss the case related to election interference and the January 2021 Capitol attack, marking a new legal victory for the former president.
The closure of these cases occurs in a context of increasing legal immunity for former presidents, after the predominantly conservative Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents enjoy broad judicial immunity.
Despite the accusations and ongoing investigations, Trump has leveraged these judicial decisions to his advantage, celebrating the rulings as proof of his "innocence" and accusing his opponents of conducting a "political persecution."
Trump, who has stated that if he wins the 2024 elections he would fire special prosecutor Jack Smith, expressed on his Truth Social platform that the decision to dismiss the cases was "a victory," and described the charges against him as "void and illegal."
Despite this legal progress, Trump continues to face other judicial proceedings, including those related to a conviction for falsifying business records in New York and charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 elections in Georgia.
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