John,

CREW just filed an amicus brief explaining why Judge Aileen Cannon must be reassigned in the federal classified documents case against Donald Trump.

A prominent retired federal judge and two leading constitutional scholars joined our legal brief because the facts are clear: Judge Cannon’s overwhelming appearance of bias in Trump’s favor, her disregard of existing precedent and her inability or unwillingness to avoid delay and move the case forward are more than adequate grounds to reassign the case.

I’ll break down more about the problems with Judge Cannon's handling of this case, but first, CREW needs your help. We’re fighting to ensure that Donald Trump is held accountable, and we can’t do it without the resources. Can you make a donation to CREW today to power our fight for accountability?

First, we should note that Judge Cannon was appointed by Trump in 2020.

After Trump was indicted in June 2023 on 37 felony counts, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements, Judge Cannon was then randomly assigned to the case the following month.

Over the course of a year, Judge Cannon made a series of controversial decisions–and ultimately dismissed the indictment by ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional, a conclusion unsupported by law or past cases.

Prior to the dismissal, Judge Cannon also:

– Suggested that some White House files could be permanently withheld from criminal investigators in the Justice Department under executive privilege,
– Inexplicably called for jury instructions favorable to Trump early in the case (despite facing more immediate legal questions), and
– Stalled the case until Justice Clarence Thomas’s lone concurrence in the presidential immunity case called into question whether Smith’s appointment was legal, after which she quickly threw out the indictment on the same grounds.

In addition to her dubious legal assertions, Judge Cannon appears to have slow-walked the case, playing into Trump’s well-known legal strategy of delaying court proceedings to evade accountability.

At every possible opportunity, Judge Cannon has demonstrated her apparent bias in favor of Trump.

At every stage, she’s made this case more difficult than the law mandated, and she then dismissed it on largely unprecedented grounds, delivering a significant win to Trump.

Should the Court reverse her decision to dismiss the case, it must also ensure that the case is reassigned to allow it to proceed fairly and expeditiously and to help restore the credibility of the federal court system.

Judge Cannon was presented with a historic case that will shape whether the most powerful figures in government can be held accountable by the law. Here at CREW, we’ll continue to fight for accountability. But this case shows that the pursuit of justice is never easy.

John we need your support in this critical fight. If you can, please make a donation to CREW today to help us continue fighting for accountability →

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
President
CREW