WASHINGTON (AP) Special counsel Jack Smith intends to appeal a judges dismissal of the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump .

A spokesman for Smith revealed the move in a statement Monday hours after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the case. The judge sided with Trumps lawyers, who said Smiths appointment as special counsel violated the Constitution.

A successful appeal by prosecutors could result in the indictment being reinstated, though even if that there were to happen, it would be virtually impossible for a trial to take place before the November presidential election.

The decision by Judge Cannon, which may eventually be overturned by a higher court, brings at least for now a stunning and abrupt conclusion to a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats the Republican former president confronted.