If you were worried that Judge Aileen Cannon might someday surprise everyone by rediscovering the concept of judicial independence, congratulations, today is not that day.
In a move that will shock exactly no one who has watched Cannon’s extremely online career arc, the Trump-appointed judge permanently blocked the release of the special counsel report authored by Jack Smith in the classified documents case. The reason? According to Cannon, disclosure is barred “due to the unlawful appointment of Special Counsel Smith and Attorney General Bondi’s deliberative-process determination.”
Cannon, you’ll recall, showed her whole ass as a partisan hack willing to do the bidding of Donald Trump, but her lack of experience and chaotic courtroom management are just as noteworthy. But she really upped her status as “favorite judge of the most aggressively red-hatted MAGA crowd” when she dismissed the criminal case against Trump. Her theory — that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional — was… creative. So creative, in fact, that it flew directly into conflict with decades of precedent. But after Trump won the 2024 election, the DOJ dropped the appeal.
Fast-forward to today’s ruling. Cannon writes that releasing Volume II of Smith’s report (the portion addressing the classified documents) will stay behind Cannon’s ever-expanding shield of judicial paternalism as it would cause “manifest injustice” to the former defendants because Smith, “acting without lawful authority,” obtained an indictment that was ultimately dismissed.
Originally, Cannon justified blocking release because appeals were pending for Trump’s co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Then Trump took over the DOJ, those cases evaporated, and Cannon’s excuse went with them. American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute sought to intervene and asked for the report to be released.
Cannon responded by doing absolutely nothing — for a really long time. Like, the Eleventh Circuit had to get all “undue delay” to get her to work. Cannon did what any aspiring MAGA judicial influencer would do and invited the parties to seek “appropriate relief.”
You can probably guess what happened next.
Trump, through a personal lawyer, filed a motion asking Cannon to permanently block release of the report. The DOJ — that is, Trump’s personal law firm — helpfully chimed in to say it agreed the report shouldn’t be released outside the department. Nauta and De Oliveira went even further, asking Cannon to order that all copies of the report be destroyed… which, even Cannon declined to go that far. Growth!
Cannon’s ruling locks the report away, insulating Trump from the political and historical consequences of a prosecution that never quite made it to trial. All because rather than act as a “check” or “balance” to executive authority, Aileen Cannon uses her federal judgeship to give an assist to her benefactor.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post In Shocking Twist, Judge Aileen Cannon Sides With Donald Trump. Again. appeared first on Above the Law.
If you were worried that Judge Aileen Cannon might someday surprise everyone by rediscovering the concept of judicial independence, congratulations, today is not that day.
In a move that will shock exactly no one who has watched Cannon’s extremely online career arc, the Trump-appointed judge permanently blocked the release of the special counsel report authored by Jack Smith in the classified documents case. The reason? According to Cannon, disclosure is barred “due to the unlawful appointment of Special Counsel Smith and Attorney General Bondi’s deliberative-process determination.”
Cannon, you’ll recall, showed her whole ass as a partisan hack willing to do the bidding of Donald Trump, but her lack of experience and chaotic courtroom management are just as noteworthy. But she really upped her status as “favorite judge of the most aggressively red-hatted MAGA crowd” when she dismissed the criminal case against Trump. Her theory — that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional — was… creative. So creative, in fact, that it flew directly into conflict with decades of precedent. But after Trump won the 2024 election, the DOJ dropped the appeal.
Fast-forward to today’s ruling. Cannon writes that releasing Volume II of Smith’s report (the portion addressing the classified documents) will stay behind Cannon’s ever-expanding shield of judicial paternalism as it would cause “manifest injustice” to the former defendants because Smith, “acting without lawful authority,” obtained an indictment that was ultimately dismissed.
Originally, Cannon justified blocking release because appeals were pending for Trump’s co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira. Then Trump took over the DOJ, those cases evaporated, and Cannon’s excuse went with them. American Oversight and the Knight First Amendment Institute sought to intervene and asked for the report to be released.
Cannon responded by doing absolutely nothing — for a really long time. Like, the Eleventh Circuit had to get all “undue delay” to get her to work. Cannon did what any aspiring MAGA judicial influencer would do and invited the parties to seek “appropriate relief.”
You can probably guess what happened next.
Trump, through a personal lawyer, filed a motion asking Cannon to permanently block release of the report. The DOJ — that is, Trump’s personal law firm — helpfully chimed in to say it agreed the report shouldn’t be released outside the department. Nauta and De Oliveira went even further, asking Cannon to order that all copies of the report be destroyed… which, even Cannon declined to go that far. Growth!
Cannon’s ruling locks the report away, insulating Trump from the political and historical consequences of a prosecution that never quite made it to trial. All because rather than act as a “check” or “balance” to executive authority, Aileen Cannon uses her federal judgeship to give an assist to her benefactor.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post In Shocking Twist, Judge Aileen Cannon Sides With Donald Trump. Again. appeared first on Above the Law.
