Aileen Cannon's New Rulings In Trump's Mar-A-Lago Case Raise Questions

Donald Trump speaks during an election night watch party at the State Fairgrounds on February 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. The judge in Trump’s’ classified documents case in Florida is to decide whether to set a new schedule in the case this week.

The public will discover this week if the judge in Donald Trump’s classified documents case is serious about putting the one-time president on trial next May, a former federal prosecutor has said.

Trump is facing 40 federal charges over allegations he retained classified papers after leaving the White House in January 2021 and then obstructed efforts by the relevant authorities to have them returned.

Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, has been previously criticized by former prosecutor Joyce Vance for the slow pace of pre-trial motions in Trump’s case.

Writing in her Civil Discourse blog on Sunday, Vance said that Cannon is planning a lengthy scheduling hearing in the case on Friday.

“We may learn whether Judge Cannon is serious about the May trial date, which seems unlikely given her slow pace in resolving discovery motions,” Vance wrote.

Cannon has already said that she will have to adopt a new pre-trial schedule due to delays in the case. Those delays have resulted from legal arguments over the handling of classified documents.

Vance wrote that any delay in the opening of the trial could cause a scheduling clash with Trump’s election interference case in Washington. That election interference case is on hold until the Supreme Court decides if it will consider Trump’s claim of presidential immunity from prosecution.

“If [Cannon] were to reset that trial for, say, July, that could interrupt the anticipated rescheduling of the federal election interference case before Judge Tanya Chutkan, even if the Supreme Court promptly resolves the immunity appeal,” Vance wrote.

Trump filed a series of motions on Friday seeking a dismissal of the case. One of those motions is based on presidential immunity. An appeal on that ground could delay the case significantly, according to Vance.

“An appeal process could lead to a stay of any further proceedings in the trial court while it’s underway, and we know how delay works in Trump’s favor,” she wrote.

One of Trump’s ten motions will contest the appointment of the chief prosecutor in the case, Special Counsel Jack Smith.

In August 2022, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private members club was raided by federal agents who recovered several classified papers. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and strongly denies any wrongdoing. He is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.

Cannon separately addressed a request by Smith to keep certain witness lists classified. Trump’s lawyers have opposed Smith’s request.

Cannon confirmed in a paperless order on Sunday that she held a meeting with Trump’s legal team about Smith’s request.

National security attorney Bradley Moss wrote on Sunday that Cannon should state whether she is going to issue a ruling on the witness list before next Friday so the parties have a better idea of the overall schedule.

“It’s becoming very difficult to determine if she will issue rulings before Friday’s day-long scheduling hearing, or if she will issue rulings from the bench that day,” Moss wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

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