Hi Friend,
Of all the grotesque absurdities populating our political landscape in the MAGA era, few are as flagrantly unjust as the fact the Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to her position by Donald Trump himself, has been entrusted with overseeing his classified documents trial. The conflict of interest could not be more acute and every new ruling that she hands down validates the concerns of those who want her immediately removed from the case.
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In her latest decision, Cannon rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the bulk of the case based on his ludicrous assertion that he had every right to remove classified documents from the White House and smuggle them down to Mar-a-Lago due to some imagined authority invested in him by the Presidential Records Act. While at first blush this ruling might appear to be a rare glimmer of judicial prudence on the part of Cannon, a closer look reveals a more sinister truth.
Crucially, Cannon refused to grant Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request that she rule on whether there is any validity to Trump’s PRA claim more broadly. She even went so far as to call Smith’s request a “demand” that is “unprecedented and unjust.” In other words, she refused to dismiss the case but also refused to rule out the possibility of doing so in the future. It was a minor defeat for Trump that could ultimately result in a massive defeat for Jack Smith and for the very idea of justice.
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To understand the blatant favoritism being displayed by Judge Cannon here, one need not have a granular understanding of the law. The simple fact is that the Presidential Records Act has absolutely nothing to do with the crimes Trump stands accused of violating under the Espionage Act. One has no bearing on the other and even a judge as questionably suited for the bench as Aileen Cannon knows that. By even entertaining the possibility of letting this insane defense hold water, she is doing a grave disservice to the American people.
Tellingly, in the two page order in which Cannon smeared Smith’s request for a ruling as “unjust,” she neglected to engage in even cursory legal analysis or to cite a single relevant case. She’s engaging in naked politicking on behalf of the Republican Party and can’t even be bothered to do the bare minimum to give her actions the semblance of propriety. She’s rubbing it in our faces because she thinks that she can get away with it.
So where does this leave us? Unfortunately, on very unstable ground. Cannon has left the door wide open for a stunning miscarriage of justice. This could all very well end with her letting Trump off scot-free, a fitting payback for him giving her a lifetime position of great power and influence. She might suddenly decide at a later date that Trump does, in fact, have immunity under the Presidential Records Act. She could even make that decision after the trial has begun, activating the double jeopardy rule, thus protecting Trump from a repeat trial further down the road.
The solution here is readily apparent. Jack Smith must submit a formal request for Judge Aileen Cannon to be removed from this case immediately. Anything less risks a complete disintegration of the fundamental integrity of our justice system.
Stay focused, stay energized.
Brian
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