An Astonishing Ruling in Trump's Classified-Documents Case

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : Trump got lucky when the case was assigned to Cannon, a young lawyer appointed to the bench late in his term.
55% : The decision contradicts many previous rulings and is certain to be appealed, but even so, it is a significant, unexpected legal victory for Trump -- one of many, recently -- and another success for his attempt to push his legal troubles past the November election.
47% : But in November 2022, after Trump announced he would run for president again in 2024, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel, a move intended to guard against the appearance of political interference.
41% : After a miserable legal stretch, including huge financial penalties in two New York state civil cases and a felony conviction in New York, Trump has scored major wins in the two federal cases against him.
40% : Upon leaving the White House, Trump took with him boxes full of documents, including what prosecutors say are highly classified ones relating to national security.
39% : This is a case where justice delayed may actually be justice denied: If Trump wins the presidency again in November, he is expected to quash the federal cases against him.
35% : In an ironic twist, it seems to have had an opposite effect -- allowing Trump to get a judge he appointed to dismiss the case.
34% : When the federal government repeatedly asked for them back, Trump refused.
32% : In August 2022, after the Justice Department concluded that Trump was not complying, the FBI conducted an unannounced search at Mar-a-Lago and seized boxes.
25% : Trump attempted to steal the 2020 election and then attempted to steal documents that didn't belong to him and whose handling imperiled national security.
23% : Before prosecutors charged Trump, Cannon had overseen some procedural matters related to the search and made rulings perplexingly favorable to Trump about evidence handling.
22% : The Supreme Court puts Trump above the lawEven so, the dismissal is another blow to Garland's Justice Department, which has bobbled the task of handling a lawless ex-president.
19% : Read: The cases against Trump -- a guideCannon declined, and since the charges were brought, she has continued to make ruling after ruling that favors Trump.

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