Aileen Cannon Slaps Down a Donald Trump Request

The main image shows former President Donald Trump speaking during his campaign rally on June 09, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The smaller image shows Judge Aileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. On Thursday, Cannon rejected Trump's request for a hearing concerning omissions in the search warrant of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday denied Donald Trump's motion stating that the FBI provided false or misleading information to justify the 2022 search warrant of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

Cannon rejected Trump's request for a Franks hearing, a legal proceeding to challenge the warrant based on claims of falsified information, because she determined his legal team had not provided sufficient evidence that the search warrant affidavit "contains any material false statements or omissions." The move affects the former president's efforts to throw out his classified documents case.

Cannon also said she will hold an evidentiary hearing on Trump's attorney-client privilege, with a notice to schedule it to be issued soon.

The Context

Trump was indicted last June by Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith on 40 federal charges saying that he illegally retained classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021 and obstructed the government's efforts to retrieve them.

Trump's indictment came after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach in August 2022. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has said the case is politically motivated.

Cannon, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, has faced criticism, largely along partisan lines, for her handling of the case, including delaying a trial and not setting a start date.

What We Know

In her Thursday order, Cannon wrote that Trump "identifies four omissions in the warrant, but none of the omitted information—even if added to the affidavit in support of the warrant—would have defeated a finding of probable cause." Therefore, she concluded that he did not make the requisite "substantial preliminary showing" to warrant a Franks hearing.

If a Franks hearing were to occur and Cannon ruled in favor of the defense, she could throw out the evidence collected during the execution of the search warrant, which is the primary evidence in this case. That is no longer expected, given her denial of Trump's motion.

While Cannon rejected Trump's motion for a Franks hearing, the judge did not throw out the aspect of Trump's motion relating to "unlawfully piercing of attorney-client privilege." She said this "cannot be resolved on the current record" and called for "an evidentiary suppression hearing" on privilege-related issues to be scheduled.

Trump's legal team had requested an evidentiary hearing to challenge whether it was appropriate to break attorney-client privilege, which ensures communications between the parties remain confidential, by using the "crime-fraud exception." The exemption states that attorney-privilege does not hold for statements that are meant to further or conceal a crime.

Last March, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled in favor of applying the crime-fraud exemption, allowing prosecutors to bypass attorney-client privilege and access communications between Trump and his former lawyer. The prosecution seeks to use a series of audio notes from Trump's former lawyer Evan Corcoran as evidence.

On Thursday, Cannon wrote in her order that she will make her own determination on the matter. "It is the obligation of this Court to make factual findings afresh on the crime-fraud issue," she said.

In addition, Cannon said the court "agrees with Defendant Trump that ambiguities persist" in the attachment to the warrant, which must comply with the Fourth Amendment. She said that those ambiguities "cannot be resolved on the current record alone" and that "further factual development is warranted."

Contacted by Newsweek, the Department of Justice declined to comment. Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump lawyer Emil Bove via email.

What's Next?

It's not known when the next hearing will take place. Cannon will issue an order to schedule it.

A trial in this case is not expected to occur before November's election. Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee in a very close contest against President Joe Biden.

On Thursday night, Trump and Biden will face off in their first debate since 2020.

Updated 6/27/24, 4:10 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.

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