# FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 8, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329 "2022-08-08T23:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 414
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8286 "2024-05-30T02:05:59Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > If Fani Willis has to be put on trial before she can start Trump’s trial, why not Cannon? Because judges are practically untouchable, for a reason. We don’t want judges to have to be concerned about political issues. Unfortunately it can lead to an incompetent and/or corrupt judge that you can’t remove. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8287 "2024-05-30T02:07:00Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Unfortunately it can lead to an incompetent and/or corrupt judge that you can’t remove. … and is doing an immense amount of damage to our national security. But hey. No biggie. Trump is safe, right? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8288 "2024-05-30T02:11:24Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You know, Trump appointed Cannon toward the end of his term, in May of 2020. She was confirmed in November 2020. I have often wondered if someone gave him a heads-up that cases would likely be filed in Florida and he’d better have his cat’s paw in place for when that happened. Trump is fairly saavy when it comes to fraud and corruption, but I don’t believe he has the ability to formulate that kind of strategic long term plan. Even if this had been his plan, it would be predicated on him getting lucky by Cannon’s name coming up randomly. While I don’t think Trump is stupid he’s certainly no genuis. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8289 "2024-05-30T02:13:54Z")
That word, “randomly,” is doing a heavy lift here. No way to prove otherwise, but… just sayin’. I apologize for being so jaded. Let’s just say I’ve seen the horse trading that can take place. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8290 "2024-05-30T02:17:19Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > That word, “randomly,” is doing a heavy lift here. No way to prove otherwise, but… just sayin’. One of the things I’ve told my MAGA mother is that she lives in a world of shadowy conspiracy theories rather than reality. If there’s any evidence that someone tampered with the process to select the judge for this case I would be happy to review it. But until then, I’m not going to slip into tinfoil hattery because it’s a shot stop from there to Crazy Town. And let’s me honest, I simply can’t out-crazy MAGA. That’s a sucker’s bet. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8291 "2024-05-30T02:20:39Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > If there’s any evidence that someone tampered with the process to select the judge for this case I would be happy to review it. But until then, I’m not going to slip into tinfoil hattery because it’s a shot stop from there to Crazy Town. No, you shouldn’t. That’s completely fair. As I said, there’s no evidence for it. And I’m not saying it happened. It’s possible that Smith just lost the crap shoot. But a lot of stuff did line up in an awfully fortuitous way for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8292 "2024-05-30T04:51:19Z")
My understanding is that the other two judges already had a full docket and so Cannon was the only one who could take it. EDIT: At the time she was given this case, I think I remember posting something along the lines of how she was going to tank it because she’s so obviously partisan based on the special master kerfluffle. And I think @Aspenglow argued that we didn’t know she was in the bag for Trump. Not sure if I’m remembering it right, but that is my memory. I’d love to find that exhange but I I feel like it would take hours of sifting to locate it. EDIT 2: Found it immediately simply by searching this thread for posts by me with the word “assign.” Lots of misremembered details. @Aspenglow was right there with me thinking Cannon was in the bag for Trump. It was @Procrustus still giving her the benefit of the doubt at the time. (With very little conviction was that benefit of the doubt granted. Basically a desperate hope.) Also, it wasn’t because the other two judges had full dockets (though I swear I read that somewhere off board) but rather that because she had been involved tangentially with this case in that special master deal, that made it more likely that she would be given this case. > [@FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence (August 8, 2022)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022/969329/5231): > > Well alrighty then, that’s a wrap. This will all be performative until the appeal in a year or two. Since it appears she was assigned because of her previous experience with this case, tip of the hat to the Trump legal team for judge shopping for her in the first place. Turns out that was pretty darn savvy. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8293 "2024-05-30T05:37:48Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > That word, “randomly,” is doing a heavy lift here. No way to prove otherwise, but… just sayin’. I sense the same. ISTR reading (maybe here on the Dope) that she was one of only three judges available to be assigned to the case. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8294 "2024-05-30T21:38:01Z")
Well, it looks like Trump’s lawyers will be free to work on this case now. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8295 "2024-05-30T23:25:18Z")
I’m reading that exchange in your post and couldn’t help but think, Aileen Cannon is the Angel Hernandez of Federal judges. > [@Angel Hernandez, Worst MLB Ump ever, retires](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angel-hernandez-worst-mlb-ump-ever-retires/1002196/26): > > Absolutely, for all the same reasons. Unfortunately, _she’s_ not retiring… we’re stuck with her for life. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8296 "2024-05-30T23:27:05Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I’m reading that exchange in your post and couldn’t help but think, Aileen Cannon is the Angel Hernandez of Federal judges. Except he had decades of experience. She’s an unsure, inexperienced Angel Hernandez. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8297 "2024-06-01T22:45:32Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > In other Trump court news on Tuesday, federal Judge Aileen Cannon [rejected special counsel Jack Smith’s request](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/politics/trump-gag-order-cannon-classified-documents/index.html)for a gag order against Donald Trump in the classified documents case, saying prosecutors’ efforts to work with defense lawyers was “wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy.” > > In a brief order, Cannon slammed prosecutors for not following the court’s rules by failing to confer with Trump’s defense lawyers in a meaningful way about a potential gag order. The motion has been refiled. Predictably, Trump’s lawyers oppose the motion. > **[Special counsel Jack Smith again seeks Trump gag order in classified...](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/05/31/politics/trump-special-counsel-gag-order-classified-documents)** > > Special counsel Jack Smith has once again asked the federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against Donald Trump to impose a gag order against the former president, barring him from making statements about the law enforcement officers... There is theorizing that this motion may give Smith the ammunition he needs to get her off the case. It’s an extreme measure, but her conduct has also been extreme. > [@](#): > > If she doesn’t approve the renewed motion—or if she sits on it indefinitely—Smith could “potentially” go to the Eleventh Circuit and ask them to step in, Seligman told _The New Republic_ ’s [Greg Sargent](https://newrepublic.com/article/182012/shady-judge-cannon-trumps-bidding-yet-againbut-may-backfire). Or if she denies it outright, there is an “overwhelming likelihood” that Smith will appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, during which he could ask for her removal. > **[How Judge Cannon’s Petty Ruling Could Be Her Downfall](https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-cannon-petty-ruling-could-134807494.html)** > > Her decision could turn into a win for Jack Smith, not Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8298 "2024-06-01T23:07:27Z")
Thank you for the glimmer of hope. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8299 "2024-06-01T23:17:35Z")
But Bullwinkle, that trick _never_ works. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8300 "2024-06-02T00:15:43Z")
It is absolutely ridiculous that this motion has to be filed at all. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8301 "2024-06-02T00:30:27Z")
If Cannon is replaced, here’s my count of who appointed the remaining Judges: Biden: 3 Clinton: 2 GHW Bush: 1 GW Bush: 2 Obama: 4 Trump: 4 [**SOURCE**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Southern_District_of_Florida) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8302 "2024-06-04T12:28:26Z")
Evidently a lot of other folks want Cannon off the case. > **[After 1,000 complaints in one week, court no longer accepting ‘orchestrated’...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/03/politics/cannon-orchestrated-complaints-trump/index.html#:~:text=A%20federal%20appeals%20court%20will,of%20an%20%E2%80%9Corchestrated%20campaign.%E2%80%9D)** > > A federal appeals court will no longer accept complaints about Aileen Cannon, the judge presiding over the federal criminal case against Donald Trump in Florida, that appear to be part of an “orchestrated campaign.” > The May 22 opinion from the 11th Circuit Judicial Council, which oversees lower courts in Florida, said that since May 16, 2024, the clerk has received more than 1,000 complaints “that raise allegations that are similar to the allegations raised in previous complaints.” The council ordered the court clerk to stop accepting similar complaints. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8303 "2024-06-04T12:55:38Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > > “that raise allegations that are similar to the allegations raised in previous complaints.” 🤔 Gee, why do you suppose that is? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8304 "2024-06-04T13:15:45Z")
I mean, really, all they’re saying is “we get the message”. They’re not saying one way or the other whether they agree with the message. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8305 "2024-06-05T17:59:42Z")
This is an unusual twist in the defense’s quest to have Jack Smith disqualified for… reasons: > **[Judge Cannon expands hearing on Trump’s request to declare special counsel’s...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/04/politics/cannon-trump-special-counsel-hearing/index.html)** > > Judge Aileen Cannon is planning on holding a sprawling hearing on Donald Trump’s request to declare Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel invalid, signaling the judge could be more willing than any other trial judge to veto the... > Cannon on Tuesday said that a variety of political partisans and constitutional scholars not otherwise involved with the case can join in the oral arguments later this month. Does she think she’s on the Supreme Court, inviting amicus briefs to help her rule? Maybe she can’t figure out a plausible-sounding argument on her own and needs the cover of partisan “constitutional scholars” to make the argument for her. There might be a reason she can’t come up with a legal rationale to kick Jack Smith off the case: > Similar challenges from Trump and other high-level targets of special counsel probes have flopped from coast to coast in recent years > Cannon holds a hearing on the legal power of the special counsel to prosecute a defendant, on June 21. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329.md?page=413) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329.md?page=415)