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District of Florida judge Aileen Cannon comes under fire after an unrepentant move to wiggle Donald Trump‘s way out of the DOJ claws amid the January 6 reports saga. Four years after the January 6 2020 insurrection following Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden, Jack Smith presented his completed reports on the investigations in the wake of his felony charges against the president-elect. However, calls from Trump’s party and his co-defendants to prevent the entire report from going public have sparked a wild debate nationwide. In a filing last week, the United States Department of Justice disclosed that only the first part of this report covering the January 6 case, would be made public, while the second part bordering on classified documents remains withheld for now.
This followed the ruling by Donald Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to temporarily block the reports’ release pending a decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Saturday, the judge made another attempt to aid the politician’s attempt to shield himself from the damaging repercussions of Smith’s reports with another precarious demand. Judge Cannon asked the DOJ for information proving Trump’s co-defendant had nothing to do with Jack Smith’s January 6 reports. However, the DOJ argued that Cannon had no further jurisdiction to weigh in on the January 6 reports having successfully appealed it at the 11th U.S. Circuit.
Judge Cannon Under Fire for Trying To Help Trump
After the hard blow on the Trump-appointed judge, legal analyst Kristy Greenberg, like millions of Americans, blasted Cannon during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Weekend. Airing her views with the MSNBC hosts, the former SDNY prosecutor called Judge Cannon an “attention seeker” trying to create adequate drama to stall the January 6 reports until Donald Trump successfully takes office and “try to bury it” for good. Greenberg expressed hopes that the 11th circuit would foil that plan, especially after Smith’s resignation.
Greenberg went on to scorch Judge Cannon, painting her as Donald Trump’s underling. When asked about the Judge’s future prospects, the legal analyst noted that the district judge had nothing at the end of the road because she was exactly where Trump wanted her. Explaining further, the former prosecutor noted that at this point, Cannon remained “the only game in town,” with few judges in her division. She added,
“Her rulings are lawless. She has defied 150 years of precedent in saying that the special counsel was improperly appointed. I mean all of her rulings in this case were so outside the bounds of law and always in Donald Trump’s favor so at some point, you need to call a spade a spade and you need to say something else is afoot here.”
Judge Cannon Labelled a Stain on America’s Judicial System Over Trump Bias
MSNBC co-host Michael Steele echoed similar sentiments, describing Judge Cannon as being “in a tank” and “a stain on the entire judiciary.” Steel also denied the district judge’s credibility, calling it “unfortunate” that the American people found themselves “subject to this neophyte judge,” who knows nothing of the rules of precedent. Going further, Steele echoed the views of many Americans, demanding the release of all of Jack Smith’s reports regardless of the damning implication on Donald Trump’s reputation or the concerns about leaking classified information.
Like Steele and Greenberg, several citizens have voiced their take on the release of Jack Smith’s reports based on two investigations that led to his felony charges against the president-elect. However, Trump’s team, as well as his co-defendants believe these said reports would do more harm than good if released, with Judge Cannon seemingly throwing Donald Trump several lifelines to stall the release of the January 6 part of the reports, as well as the volume 2 which contains “classified documents.” Although this bias towards Trump, deemed lawless by many has earned the district judge backlash, she appears undeterred in her efforts to stall the inevitable.