This explains why Cannon went to the attorneys for draft closing arguments, instead of to her clerks.
FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024
I think the harsh criticism she got from the 11th circuit court of appeals has her fearful of making any mistakes. So she’s giving every single thing that Donald’s lawyers propose an overly careful consideration, including extensive legal briefs and scheduled oral arguments.
But I’m not so sure she’s in the bag for donald. She’d probably love it if he got convicted elsewhere first, so the focus on her is lessened. It’s a self preservation thing.
An informative article from The Bulwark explaining how many different ways Cannon could tank the case and why Smith really, really needs to do what he can to get her removed sooner rather than later.
I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’d say the chances of Smith asking for his are near zero. And the chances of it being successful even less.
I agree. I think it’s fantasy that she would be forcefully recused from the case, or that Jack would even want to go that route.
Also, she has done odd things for sure, but nothing so egregiously appealable. You need to wait for several of those types of things to happen, and only then could Jack even entertain the idea. Slow walking the case (but still moving it forward), entertaining odd constructions of the law to learn what applies and if so how far it extends, etc are certainly odd/not good for Jack, but it’s not recusable stuff. It’s just weird.
There are a stack of motions she’s sitting on that could maybe lead to a recusal situation, but it has not happened, yet (and even if it presented itself, Jack won’t do it - he’ll just appeal the rulings). Regardless, let’s see how the witness reconsideration motion goes, and whether she grants any of the frivolous motions to dismiss.
As stated above by Moriaty, which I agree with, she seems fearful of making rulings that would lead to an appeal/reversal by the 11th. It explains some of the careful, slow, overthinking obvious things approach she has been taking. But again, it’s not recusable actions. Not yet.
As much as Judge Cannon has pissed me off, this makes a lot of sense and everything fits. An inexperienced judge gets the Trump lawsuit demanding his documents back from the DOJ, royally screws up and gets completely raked over the coals. Then she gets assigned yet another major case for the same parties, and this time is cautious to the point of being a problem.
I know a lot of people say she’s in the bag for him because Trump appointed her, but so many other Trump appointees have been antagonistic toward Trump because they don’t owe him anything. I don’t think Cannon is trying to make things easier for Trump, I just think she doesn’t know what she’s doing, realizes she doesn’t know what she’s doing, realizes the scrutiny she’s under, and is being careful to the point of delaying everything forever.
Hanlon’s Razor applies here.
- Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
Absolutely, and we have lots of evidence of incompetence and reasons for it. (Specifically, a glaring lack of experience.)
then toss the case to someone else. she has a choice there.
Oh no question. I am in no way absolving her. She is screwing this up badly and doesn’t need to. She is terrible. I also remember the suggestion early on that she would probably consult with a more experienced judge for guidance on a case like this and as far as I know that didn’t happen either. She is awful and there is no way this will go well for her. I just think that she’s not intentionally trying to help Trump skate on these charges.
I respect your optimism (no sarcasm meant).
I’m not sure that I’m an optimist. Whether she’s trying to help Trump or not, the effect is the same. The case is being mismanaged, unnecessarily dragged out, and what seems like a case with overwhelming evidence of guilt on Trump’s part is looking extremely uncertain.
I say she’s in the bag for Trump based on trying to appoint a special master in the documents review case. For which, of course, she got slapped down by the 11th circuit. I didn’t see any incompetence at all in that ruling. I saw someone deliberately tanking a case where she wasn’t even the judge in an effort to help Trump with a lengthy delay. That was naked partisanship in my book.
And now that Trump’s case is actually before her it’s all delay, delay, delay. That’s not incompetence. That’s malice.
And in recent developments, the prosecutors are basically pushing back on this “What if the sky were green?” plan for jury instructions.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that both of Cannon’s hypothetical scenarios “rest on an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise.” Any jury instructions that include the PRA risked “distorting the trial,” they said.
So, is she hoping for a jury to be sympathetic because Trump is stupid?
Or she’s hoping for a jury to be stupid because they’re sympathetic to Trump.
from the article linked by horatius:
Smith’s team requested that if the judge opts to include language concerning the PRA, she affords them ample time to appeal the matter to higher courts ahead of trial.
The former president’s legal team took the opposite view, writing Cannon “correctly stated the law” when she suggested the jury instruction that would have granted Trump much broader power under the PRA
gov.uscourts.flsd.648652.428.0_1.pdf (courtlistener.com)
here is a link to the 24 page filing.
gov.uscourts.flsd.648653.427.0.pdf (courtlistener.com)
here is the 8 page team trump filing.
United States v. Trump, 9:23-cr-80101 – CourtListener.com
link to the florida case, should you want to follow along at home.
What a polite way of saying “fuck around and find out.” Guess it boils down to whether Cannon is willing to suffer another public rebuke in exchange for giving Trump the delays he wants.
Thanks for the links.
I haven’t read them, yet, but I have a general sense of this case. I will break it down extremely generally, and through the lens that Cannon is afraid of getting overturned on appeal (like an irrational fear).
At the trial level - Judges decide the law. A jury decides the facts and applies those to the law. It’s common for lawyers to help the Judge determine what the law is, especially when it’s not super clear, but again, the Judge decides the law. Here, Cannon is just incapable of committing to something/deciding the law.
Jack is desperately wanting Cannon to make a decision, which if completely wrong, he can appeal it. It seems he’s begging her to in this response. To be clear, the hypo bonkers jury instruction is just a thought experiment, it’s not Cannon actually deciding to do anything, so you can’t appeal a thought experiment - it’s just Cannon wanting to be informed of what the lawyers think the law is so Cannon can then make a decision (in theory). But I can’t imagine Cannon making a final decision on jury instructions right now.
To bring this full circle, I think in hypo (b), she asks if the law is: if Trump doesn’t turn the docs over, per the PRA, does that “make” them into his personal records/he’s authorized to have them. She’s wanting to know if that’s what the law is. But if that’s the law, then Cannon should immediately grant Trump’s PRA motion to dismiss. The indictment alleges he did not turn the docs over - it’s crystal clear on that. If the law is not turning them over means they are his personal records/he’s authorized to have them, then there is no crime (an element is he must have them w/o authorization) - so grant the motion. It’s easy.
I just don’t see her committing to the law. Right or wrong. Even though it’s literally her job and this is not contested law. I await her ruling w/o prejudice (which means you can’t appeal since it’s not a final ruling).