“Cannon Has To Be Removed”: Is Judge Aileen Cannon Ruling in Trump’s Favor in Classified Documents Case?

Amy LewisNov 9, 2023

Minute Read

A judge appointed by Donald Trump during his term at the White House is facing calls to recuse herself from his top-secret documents case over claims she may be favorable to the former president.

Push to Delay

Trump’s legal team has been attempting to delay the trial until after the 2024 presidential election, in November, fearing it might upset his chances of being elected. Trump is currently the GOP primary frontrunner and looks likely to be selected as the party’s candidate for the race. In national polls, he is around 50 points ahead of the GOP pack, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

A May Day Start

The sensitive-documents case was slated to start in May 2024, but following arguments from Trump’s team, Judge Aileen Cannon said she was open to moving it. She cited other cases against Trump as well as a packed court schedule.

Moving Beyond May

Cannon said at court in south Florida, of the initial May start date: “I’m having a hard time seeing how this work can be accomplished realistically in this period of time.”

Documents Case

Special Counsel Jack Smith has been investigating a case against Trump that alleges he withheld and concealed secret government files and also shared information in them with other people. Photographs accompanying an indictment show dozens of boxes allegedly containing government files stacked up in various rooms of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida.

He has been charged with the alleged crime along with his personal aide, Walt Nauta, and resort maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. In total, they face 40 counts of criminal wrongdoing and a potential maximum jail term of 20 years if convicted.

Prosecutors’ Delay Fears

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Smith has told Judge Cannon that he suspects Trump is trying to not only delay the documents case but also another one he’s been indicted on, relating to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden.

Trump Pardon?

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Smith told the judge that Trump has an “overriding interest” in delaying the trials past the November 2024 election date because should he become president again, he could possibly pardon himself if convicted or have the cases dismissed.

Prosecutor’s Violation

But Special Counsel Smith ran into trouble with Judge Cannon for the length of words he used to tell her about his view of Trump’s trial-delay requests. The judge found that Smith was in violation of a rule that written responses from an opposing party cannot be over 200 words, and his reasoning was longer.

Call to Recuse

Andrew Weissman, a former FBI general counsel, said Judge Cannon should step down from the case. He said on X (formerly Twitter), referring to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who was jailed for bank and tax fraud: “We routinely advised the 2 judges who had the Manafort criminal cases of filings made in the other case. That was an obligation we felt to both judges and a courtesy. Not once were we criticized for doing so. Cannon has to be removed whether too novice or too partisan or both.”

Cannon Under ‘No Obligation’

X user Julie Kelly reacted by saying to Weismann: “You ‘advised’ or filed copies of motions in both cases? Jack Smith didn’t even notify Cannon he filed another indictment against Trump in DC 10 days after she set docs trial. She is not obligated to indulge the government on anything — and they broke the court rules here.”

Smith’s Remedies

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Another person, Alexander Bischoff, said on X: “It is almost bizarre that the Republican party allege that the DOJ has a witch hunt against Trump, as we see the courts bend over backwards to recognize that he is a presidential candidate, giving him leniency never afforded before. But not a word over borderline criminality by Cannon. Look forward to hearing what Smith’s remedies are.”

‘Helping Trump’

Still another X user, Cynthia Luzon, suggested that Judge Cannon was doing Trump favors.

“She’s so lame and in his clutches,” she wrote. “Remove her NOW! What a disgrace. But what can you expect — it’s Florida.”

Favorable Trump Rulings

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Some legal experts point to previous rulings by Judge Cannon that were favorable to Trump. They included Trump not having to testify under oath over his claim that the FBI possibly “planted” evidence against him during a raid on his Florida home and also a ruling exempting the former president from saying which government files found at his home had been declassified.