Legal experts are lambasting Florida Judge Aileen Cannon for her handling of Donald Trump’s trial involving classified documents, criticizing her delay tactics and questioning her competence, with some even demanding her removal from the case.
Cannon postponed the trial indefinitely, citing unresolved issues with classified evidence and leaving the start date uncertain, potentially impacting the trial’s timing vis-à-vis the 2024 presidential election.
Trump faces 40 federal charges related to alleged mishandling of classified materials post-presidency, which he denies, attributing the accusations to political motives.
On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), critics like lawyer and former FBI agent Asha Rangappa and former U.S. district attorney Joyce Alene expressed dismay over Cannon’s actions, with Rangappa suggesting she’s overwhelmed by the case’s complexity and biased against Trump.
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“I think that Judge Cannon is intellectually out of her league and is having some weird analysis paralysis because her personal partisanship makes her place Trump’s bizarre arguments (like that nuclear secrets are his personal records) on par with Smith’s *actual* legal arguments. She’s afraid of making any mistake, lest Smith have a basis to appeal and perhaps get her removed, and so in this lost, ineffective, and paranoid state, the best she can hope for is that Trump gets elected and the case just goes away. So that’s her play,” Rangappa wrote.
Joyce Alene remarked: “This is news but it’s hardly unexpected. Judge Cannon seems desperate to avoid trying this case. This isn’t justice. defendants aren’t the only ones with speedy trial act rights, we the people have them too.”
This is news but it's hardly unexpected. Judge Cannon seems desperate to avoid trying this case. This isn't justice. defendants aren't the only ones with speedy trial act rights, we the people have them too. https://t.co/MbZNo7ripk
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 7, 2024
Some, like former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, fear Trump might evade trial altogether if re-elected.
Reich wrote:
Four facts:
1. If Trump stole nat’l secrets, he must face justice.
2. Thanks to Judge Cannon, it now seems impossible for a trial to happen before the election.
3. If he’s reelected, he will never face trial.
4. Therefore, Trump must be defeated as a matter of nat’l security
Four facts:
1. If Trump stole nat'l secrets, he must face justice.
2. Thanks to Judge Cannon, it now seems impossible for a trial to happen before the election.
3. If he's reelected, he will never face trial.
4. Therefore, Trump must be defeated as a matter of nat'l security
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 7, 2024
Others, such as author David Rothkopf, hint at seeking Cannon’s removal from the case, citing the right to a timely trial.
He wrote: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Both the defendant and the public have the right to a trial “without unnecessary delay.” (Sixth Amendment.) When does Jack Smith seek a remedy for the problem Judge Cannon clearly represents? Tick freaking tock.”
However, attorney Neama Rahmani believes Cannon’s removal is unlikely, despite concerns about her readiness for such a significant case.
“Cannon seems in over her head and not ready for a case of this magnitude. It’s still unlikely that she will be removed from the case, however,” he said. Being reversed on appeal isn’t enough, even if she is reversed multiple times. Smith would have to prove Cannon is partial and reassignment is necessary. That’s not an easy legal standard to meet.”
Meanwhile, Trump faces another trial in Manhattan over allegations of falsifying business records to conceal payments to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, maintaining his innocence throughout.
