Judge Aileen Cannon
via Southern District of Florida
Special counsel Jack Smith cited a past case worked on by Judge Aileen Cannon to emphasize why she should rule against Donald Trump in his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Cannon eventually decided to postpone the case indefinitely.
Delay the trial
via Pixabay
Trump’s legal team initially aimed to delay the trial and requested access to more evidence. Smith’s filing referred to a case from Cannon’s past to counter Trump’s claim of “selective prosecution.”
Strategic reminder
via FOX 5
Jack Smith’s move is seen as a strategic reminder to the judge about her expertise. Catherine Ross, a professor emeritus at George Washington University Law School, said, “She worked on almost no cases. She had very little courtroom experience. To find a case that actually she worked on and that resulted in a published opinion is in itself improbable.”
Little trial background
via FOX 5
“It’s a brilliant maneuver, and particularly with a judge who had so little trial background,” she continued. “It’s not quite the same as confronting a judge with an opinion they wrote or joined,” added the professor.
Selective prosecution
via CNN
“I don’t think selective prosecution comes up often. There are very few people who can pass the laugh test on claiming that. I think they have her locked in a pretty tight spot—if she were a normal judge,” explained Ross.
Making errors
via Pixabay
Smith’s team accused Cannon of making errors related to the protection of witness identities, potentially leading to concerns about her impartiality.
Ongoing drama
via Pixabay
Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman said, “Remember, we have this ongoing drama with her.”
Slow-walking the case
via FOX 31
“She’s been slow-walking the case and she had these early sort of debacles that the 11th Circuit reversed,” he continued.
Another clear misstep
via Pixabay
“We’ve been wondering will she make another clear misstep that would give Smith the wherewithal to say maybe it’s time to recuse her,” added the former prosecutor.
Underlying facts
via FOX 31
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, said, “So now there is this issue, with respect to divulging the name of someone who is under investigation, which could interfere with a criminal investigation. We don’t know about the underlying facts of that so it is somewhat guesswork.”
That does not get disclosed
via CNN
“What I can tell, you as a — I have been in a prosecutor for many years — that does not get disclosed when you are doing an investigation,” he continued.
Send this back
via NowThis News
“To me, it is so reminiscent of the same problem she had during the investigation. So, if she continues this route, it will be interesting to see whether Jack Smith gets to the 11th Circuit and whether they sort of politely recuse her, essentially, which happens when the circuit hears the case and basically says ‘When we send this back, we think that the better course is for a different judge to hear it,'” explained Weissmann.
Potential recusal
via CNN
There are suggestions that Cannon’s actions could lead to a potential recusal by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
