She said Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as special counsel and that the funding of his office also violated the law. “It’s not just that this is an extreme argument about the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, it’s that it’s one that exactly one Supreme Court justice has endorsed and lots of precedent refutes,” said Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown University of Law. And Cannon’s opinion left open the possibility that the charges could be revived if brought by the Justice Department in a way not reliant on the current special counsel infrastructure. In other special counsel cases, defendants have not even bothered to bring the long-shot claims. The special counsel office has not yet weighed in on Cannon’s decision.

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Persons: Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith’s, Donald Trump, Smith, Trump, –, It’s, ”, Steve Vladeck, Clarence Thomas, coronate Trump, Monday’s, Michael Moore, “ She’s, Moore, Obama, Clarence Thomas Just, Cannon, Thomas ’, Thomas, Robert Mueller’s, David Weiss ’, Hunter Biden, “, Justice Thomas, Mark Schnapp, it’s, ” Vladeck Organizations: CNN, Trump, CNN Supreme, Georgetown University of Law, Justice Department, Republican National Convention, House, Saturday, “ CNN, Appeals, Supreme Locations: Fort Pierce , Florida, Washington ,, South Florida, Robert Mueller’s Russia