How Clarence Thomas Just Gave Aileen Cannon the Cover to Boot Jack Smith

Thomas took aim at the special counsel’s office in his concurrence. Legal experts say that could complicate the DOJ’s classified documents case against Donald Trump.

In this image from video provided by the U.S. Senate, Aileen M. Cannon speaks remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight nomination hearing to be U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
On June 21, Judge Aileen Cannon held an all-day hearing where she considered what defense lawyers have deemed as Smith’s “unlawful appointment.” AP

Legal scholars say Justice Clarence Thomas may have just given the biggest clue — one that takes direct aim at the special counsel’s position and threatens to further push back Trump’s classified documents case in Florida.

The Supreme Court’s opinion this week granted Trump a wide berth of immunity and largely limited Smith’s election interference case against him in Washington. But Thomas, on his own, went one step further.

“I write separately to highlight another way in which this prosecution may violate our constitutional structure,” Thomas wrote.