As the Republican National Convention entered its second day, former President Donald J. Trump and his allies absorbed the stunning new reality that the most formidable legal case against him had been thrown out by a federal judge, who ruled that the appointment of the special counsel who brought the case, Jack Smith, had violated the Constitution. 

Alan Feuer, who has been covering the classified documents case for The Times, explains what it means that the case could now be dead.

Guest: Alan Feuer, a reporter covering extremism and political violence for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Mr. Trump.
• The effort to hold Mr. Trump to account has already yielded a Supreme Court decision giving former presidents broad immunity. Now another case could make prosecuting political figures more complicated.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.