Johnson praises Cannon giving country ‘great relief’ after dismissing Trump charges

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called Monday a “great day for justice” after Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed charges against former President Donald Trump for his handling of classified documents.

Johnson had told the Daily Mail that special counsel Jack Smith was “beyond the bounds of what you should be doing.”

“I’m grateful that Judge Cannon recognized that,” Johnson said. “We’ll see what effect this has on the other cases, but it’s certainly a great day for justice.”

Trump was accused of taking classified national security documents with him when he left the White House and not giving them back to the National Archives and Records Administration when asked to do so. The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022 to recover the documents. Agents uncovered stacks of boxes filled with sensitive documents in Trump’s residence.

Cannon dismissed the case, claiming Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s appointments clause and appropriations clause.

“This is good news for America and for the rule of law,” Johnson said in a statement. “House Republicans repeatedly argued that Special Counsel Jack Smith abused his office’s authority in pursuit of President Trump, and now a federal judge has ruled Smith never possessed the authority in the first place.”

Trump’s legal proceedings in the classified documents case was already moving at a snail’s pace, and it was unlikely that it would go to trial this year.

Trump still faces charges in a Georgia election interference case and a federal election interference case. His sentencing in the hush money trial was pushed back to September.

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The dismissed charges come just two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt. The bullet nicked Trump’s ear, having missed his head by an inch. Trump said his survival was God giving him a chance to unify the country. Johnson said he is rallying behind the former president.

“As we work to unify this country following the failed assassination attempt of President Trump, we must also work to end the lawfare and political witch hunts that have unfairly targeted President Trump and destroyed the American people’s faith in our system of justice,” Johnson said in a statement. “This development is a critically important step towards that goal.”