A retired federal judge requests that an appeals court reassign former President Donald Trump’s indictment on accusations of mishandling confidential documents to a new judge. Special counsel Jack Smith has filed an appeal against U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision to dismiss former President Donald Trump’s case for mishandling classified and top-secret papers at his Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago last month. In filings filed with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, two groups of legal experts and former government officials argue that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon should be removed from the case.
Former federal judge Nancy Gertner and two legal professors, Stephen Gillers and James Sample, claim Judge Cannon’s rulings and frequent delays have created “well-founded concerns that she may be biased against the Government’s case and unable to manage that case impartially.” They are requesting authorization to file an amicus brief. In July, Judge Cannon rejected Trump’s indictment on claims that he improperly withheld and concealed classified and top-secret materials from federal agents. Cannon ruled that the act under which special counsel Jack Smith was appointed violated the Constitution, contradicting decades of judicial decisions, including those by the United States Supreme Court. Smith is appealing his dismissal.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW), a government watchdog group, joined Gertner and the law professors in their move. They add that if the appeals court overturns Cannon’s finding, it will be the third time it has done so in “a seemingly straightforward case about a former president’s unauthorized possession of government documents.”
In front of a courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, a man is wearing the mask of former President Donald Trump. A second group of former government officials and legal professors filed with the 11th Circuit requesting permission to file an amicus brief.
They claim Judge Cannon’s decision ignored the “plain text” of the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which authorizes the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor. They argue that her dismissal of the charges is “in clear defiance of binding Supreme Court precedent and the plain text of Congress’ statutes.” They’re asking the Appeals Court to overturn Judge Cannon’s decision and remove her from the case.
