Overview
- Special Counsel Jack Smith chose to file the classified‑documents case in Florida rather than Washington, D.C., a decision that drew sharp internal objections over the risk of drawing Judge Aileen M. Cannon.
- Members of Smith’s team initially pegged Cannon’s assignment odds at roughly 1 in 6, then revised the estimate to nearly 1 in 3 after reviewing judges’ caseloads and availability.
- The case landed with Cannon, who on July 15, 2024 ruled that Smith had been unlawfully appointed and dismissed the indictment, an outcome that undercut decades of special‑counsel practice.
- After that ruling, Smith sought Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar’s approval to appeal and to ask the Eleventh Circuit to remove Cannon; Prelogar approved the appeal but denied the removal bid.
- Following Trump’s 2024 election victory, DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president led the government to halt further action and Smith withdrew the appeal, according to reporting drawn from Leonnig and Davis’s forthcoming book.