U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled in favor of defense lawyers who argued that the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

The decision, expected to be appealed and potentially overturned by a higher court, brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case that was once seen as a major threat to the Republican former president. The dismissal of the case comes as Trump recovers from a recent assassination attempt and prepares to accept the Republican nomination in Milwaukee.

This dismissal is the latest stroke of good fortune for Trump in the various criminal cases he has faced. While he was convicted in May in a New York hush money trial, the sentencing has been postponed due to a Supreme Court opinion that granted broad immunity to former presidents. This opinion will also cause delays in another case where Trump is charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

The classified documents case was considered the most legally clear-cut of the four cases against Trump, as prosecutors claimed to have extensive evidence, including testimonies from close aides and former lawyers. The charges included dozens of felony counts, accusing him of hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and obstructing FBI efforts to retrieve them.

However, defense lawyers challenged the case on multiple grounds, including the assertion that the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith by Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Constitution's Appointments Clause. Judge Cannon agreed with the defense's arguments, stating that Garland had exceeded his authority by appointing a prosecutor without Senate approval, thus undermining the separation of powers.

In her 93-page order, the judge granted the defense team's request to dismiss the case without delving into the substance of the allegations against Trump. She emphasized that if the political branches wanted to grant the Attorney General the power to appoint a special counsel, they should do so through congressional approval.

This decision is one of several instances where the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the case has ruled in ways that favor the former president. The judge has been criticized for appointing an independent arbiter to inspect the classified documents recovered during the Mar-a-Lago search, an action that was later overturned by a federal appeals panel.

The appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign, selected by Trump's Justice Department, was upheld as lawful by a District of Columbia judge. However, Judge Cannon remained unconvinced and dismissed the prosecution's claims as "strained."

Trump celebrated the dismissal on his social media platform, calling it a "first step" and urging for the dismissal of the three remaining cases against him, which he deemed "witch hunts."

The dismissal of the classified documents case, while a temporary relief for Trump, is likely to be appealed and may face further legal scrutiny in higher courts.