Huge Case; Small Cannon
REPORT: Judge Aileen Cannon will preside over a novel criminal case against a former president. She has little trial experience. And she might be biased or inept or both.
(Judge Aileen M. Cannon)
Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon has made her first ruling in the Trump documents case. It might delay the start of the trial. But, I’m worried about much more than that.
“The judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s indictment on charges of illegally retaining national defense information issued an order on Thursday instructing any lawyer who wants to take part in the case to start the process of obtaining a security clearance to handle classified material by early next week.
The brief order by the federal judge, Aileen M. Cannon, instructed the lawyers to reach out to the Litigation Security Group at the Justice Department by Tuesday to “expedite” the process for getting a clearance.” - The New York Times
Special Counsel Jack Smith might have a strong, evidence-packed case against Donald Trump. But, his biggest obstacle might be Judge Aileen Cannon. I was shocked to read this lede in a story by Michael S. Schmidt and Charlie Savage in The New York Times:
“Aileen M. Cannon, the Federal District Court judge assigned to preside over former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case, has scant experience running criminal trials, calling into question her readiness to handle what is likely to be an extraordinarily complex and high-profile courtroom clash.”
And this was even more shocking in the Times report:
“Judge Cannon, 42, has been on the bench since November 2020, when Mr. Trump gave her a lifetime appointment shortly after he lost re-election.”
This is deeply concerning. Judge Cannon has only been a judge for three years, THREE YEARS. And she is about to preside over one of the most important criminal trials in the history of this nation. A trial that could send a former president of the United States to prison.
Judge Cannon’s experience in trying criminal cases is nearly nil:
“A Bloomberg Law database lists 224 criminal cases that have been assigned to her, and a New York Times review of those cases identified four that went to trial. Each was a relatively routine matter, like a felon who was charged with illegally possessing a gun. In all, the four cases added up to 14 trial days.”
Donald Trump hopes to delay this trial past the 2024 presidential election, which he further hopes to win. That way, as president, he can appoint a loyal, obedient Attorney General who will quash this indictment and any and all indictments and investigations ongoing against Trump. If needed, Trump would pardon himself, a legal novelty never tested.
Any judge in any case against Trump needs to be prepared for all manner of delaying legal tactics and slippery defense theories. Any judge in any case against Trump needs to be mindful of his legal shenanigans inside the courtroom and his willful deceits outside in the court of public opinion.
Cannon had already put the FBI investigation and DOJ prosecution in jeopardy. An opinion by a panel of three appellate judges, two also appointed by Trump, identified about a dozen errors in Cannon’s previous decisions about this grand jury case. And, a second panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that she never had jurisdiction to interfere with the Department of Justice’s investigation, which she did with one of her rulings.
So, it isn’t necessarily her perceived bias that is the problem. It’s also her inexperience and bad readings of the law. She simply does not appear to have the chops for this case. By any reading of her resume, Judge Cannon, is not and will not be up to the task of legal hand-to-hand combat with Trump’s defense team.
Law pundits are raising warnings.
Ian Millhiser, a senior correspondent at Vox, writes: “If Cannon remains the judge on this case, it is unlikely that special counsel Jack Smith will convict Trump — no matter how strong the evidence may be.”
Mark Joseph Sloan of Slate writes that Judge Cannon could “absolutely sink the federal prosecution of Trump.” Says Sloan:
“Cannon can try to rig voir dire [the jury selection process] to help the defense stack the jury with Trump supporters. She can exclude evidence and testimony that’s especially damning to Trump. She can disqualify witnesses who are favorable to the prosecution. She can sustain the defense’s frivolous objections and overrule the prosecution’s meritorious ones. She can direct a verdict of acquittal to render the jury superfluous. She can declare a mistrial prematurely for any number of reasons, including lengthy juror deliberations, and stretch out various deadlines to run out the clock.”
But, even if Cannon were even-handed, again, she just hasn’t had enough trial experience to adjudicate this case competently, comprehensively & courageously.
This from Kyle Cheney of Politico:
“A review of the Southern District of Florida dockets show Cannon’s criminal work has consisted almost entirely of a few categories of cases: distribution of a controlled substance, illegal reentry of people who had previously been deported, felons in possession of firearms and child pornography or trafficking. Nearly all have resulted in plea agreements, and the four that did not were handled in brief trials that lasted no more than three days apiece in court.”
So, yeah, Special Counsel Jack Smith might have a strong, evidence-packed case against Donald Trump. But, Judge Aileen Cannon has the power to tank it with a combination of inexperience, ineptitude and bias. I’m worried.