Federal judge Aileen Cannon finally ran into an argument from Donald Trump's lawyers she found "ridiculous," according to a very relieved legal expert.
The U.S. District Court judge rejected Trump's bid to throw out his classified documents case and appeared to be skeptical of a separate effort to strike down the Espionage Act statute that supports much of the case against him, but MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin told "Morning Joe" that the ruling contained some warning signs.
"If anything, I'm surprised that there was a hearing [Thursday] and it took as long as it did," Rubin said. "Last night in disposing one of those, she issued not even a two-page order. I want to be clear about something, she denied this motion to dismiss on this unconstitutional vagueness of the Espionage Act argument, but in doing so she took a bunch of swipes at the special counsel."
"There's some language in that order that basically says, 'I'm not deciding this now,' but she was saying to them, I'm going to read from it right now, that there are still fluctuating definitions of statutory terms and phrases along with disputed factual issues, so rather than prematurely decide now whether this is unsalvageably vague, despite the judicial glosses, some loaded accusations against the special counsel in that."
"In other words, you are telling me how other courts interpreted this but those are asserted judicial glosses. You are telling me what these terms mean but there are still fluctuating definitions."
READ MORE: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different
"Yes, she kicked the can down the road, she didn't give Donald Trump what he wanted," Rubin added. "On the other hand, she made it difficult for anyone to appeal this, and just sort of held it in abeyance. I don't think it's a victory for the special counsel's office. In terms of the Presidential Records Act, on the other hand, finally Aileen Cannon has seen an argument from Donald Trump she recognizes as ridiculous, and I think many of us breathed a sigh of relief on that one."
Watch the video below or at this link.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
