An appeals court agreed to close Donald Trump’s classified documents case permanently

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to permanently close the case of Donald Trump and the classified documents. Special prosecutor Jack Smith moved to dismiss the case after the November presidential election, as he also did with the alleged election interference case.

Judge Aileen Cannon had dismissed the case in mid-July, claiming at the time that Smith had been improperly appointed. The special prosecutor had an ongoing appeal in hopes of being able to reopen it.

Despite the appeals court decision, the case will continue for the two co-defendants, valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira.

"After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated," Smith's office recently expressed concerning the alleged election interference case, which is why he used a similar argument to request the dismissal of this case.

According to NBC News, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the habit of not prosecuting sitting presidents, so there is speculation that Trump could arrive without open federal cases come Jan. 20.

"That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind," he added.

With the classified documents case closed, Trump has still opened the case of falsification of business records, as prosecuted by Alvin Bragg in Manhattan. This was the only one that went to trial and resulted in a 34-felony conviction. However, the now-president-elect managed to postpone his sentencing until after the presidential elections, which was finally cancelled. Judge Juan Merchan will have to decide the future of the case in the coming weeks.

There is also the Georgia election interference case led by prosecutor Fani Willis. In this case, the Georgia Court of Appeals had scheduled oral arguments on Trump's appeal for December 5, but they were canceled without much explanation. The future of the appeal is expected to be defined before Trump's inauguration.