'Unjustifiably delayed': Expert snaps at Judge Aileen Cannon for dragging out Trump case

ALSO READ: Terror move backfires as 'loser' Proud Boys' socialist hate collides with love for donuts

'Unjustifiably delayed': Expert snaps at Judge Aileen Cannon for dragging out Trump case
Photos: Creative commons and Jerry Lampen for AFP

Former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann hit out at the handling of the classified documents case for Donald Trump Thursday, calling it "unjustifiably delayed."

Judge Aileen Cannon's slow-walking of the case — which is scheduled to start in May but has seen several delays — has been a complaint voiced by several legal analysts, who view it as a simple matter with plenty of case law to look to for guidance, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance argued on MSNBC. She predicted "fireworks" if Cannon, deviates from other similar cases.

And Weissmann agreed.

READ MORE: How Democrats could push back against GOP ‘judge shopping’

"The case that I think is really unjustifiably delayed is this one," Weissmann complained. "This is a case that is really quite simple in terms of its facts, in terms of preparation. Judge Cannon could have held this very routine hearing she held with the government — it could have been held months ago. There's been zero reason put on the record as to why she delayed."

He confessed to being cynical by nature, but he said that he gave her the benefit of the doubt at the start of the trial. Now, his patience has been tested to the extreme.

"I don't see any reason that this is taking as long as it did," Weissmann explained. "This is a very routine process to have these, what are called Section 4 hearings between the government and the judge as to what evidence can be used," he said, referring to a pre-trial hearing to discuss what classified information can be used as evidence which has taken a long time to be heard.

"I've been in those myself. I think this is one where there are a lot of excuses being given to her to continue the delay of the case. As you know, at the beginning of March, she's going to hear the parties on whether she's going to keep the May trial date. I think it's pretty forgone that that date is going to slip."

See the full comments below or at the link here.


Legal analyst tried to give Judge Cannon the benefit of the doubt — now he's done www.youtube.com

For customer support contact support@rawstory.com. Report typos and corrections to corrections@rawstory.com.

Blundering Trump smacked with swift reminder as Oval Office gaffe called out as illegal

Critics of President Donald Trump tried to sarcastically do him a favor as they warned his recent gaffe suggested illegal activity.

On Friday, Trump answered reporters' questions from the Oval Office, and when asked about the MAGA Inc. Super PAC, which hasn't been sharing funds with GOP contenders ahead of the midterms, he said it's "my money," even though it's not legally his money.

"This money from MAGA Inc. This is my money that I control," Trump said. "We have around $1 billion that I can spend."

"It's illegal to coordinate with Super PACs," pointed out former Democratic congressional candidate and healthcare advocate Melanie D'Arrigo. "And Trump gutted the agency that polices and investigates that."

"It's illegal for Trump to use his super PAC money and political nonprofit money for unauthorized purposes," explained Axios White House reporter Marc Caputo. "But the president could theoretically do that anyway -- take the money, as much as $800 million (he says about a billion) -- and then self-pardon."

Progressive political analyst Molly Jong-Fast simply reacted with a long "Hahahaha."

"That sound you hear is John Thune crying into a [g]lass of bourbon," joked Eric Michael Garcia, Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Independent, referring to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"Trump could illegally pocket the hundreds of millions in this Super PAC, and Republicans in Congress will pretend like it's not happening while Susan Collins writes a strongly worded letter telling Trump to cut it out," lamented columnist Ben Palmer.

When asked how he's going to use the money in his Super PAC, Trump said, "I'm going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us," and "I think we have a chance at doing well in the midterms."

He said that he plans to spend about half a billion dollars as he goes on a campaign tour to boost GOP candidates in competitive races.

THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING! ALL ADS REMOVED!

Marco Rubio buried an investigation he later claimed never happened: report

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly helped shut down a federal investigation into a businessman involved in President Donald Trump’s massive Venezuelan oil deal —then publicly said there was no investigation against him.

Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt had spent years under investigation by the Justice Department as part of a sprawling billion-dollar money laundering case, according to a new CNN report. But prosecutors in Miami recently closed the probe after receiving direct orders from then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“The move came as part of an effort by Trump White House officials and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to enlist Betancourt to engineer a massive new oil deal with Venezuela’s government,” the report said.

Rubio, in an interview this week with a Venezuelan broadcaster, took credit for helping arrange Betancourt’s role in the oil deal and went on to defend the businessman as having been fully vetted.

“We thoroughly investigate what we know within our system,” Rubio said. “Obviously, if these individuals were under investigation in the United States, and we have checked that with all the authorities, there was no investigation within our system against him.”

But, according to CNN, Rubio did not disclose that he “played a key role in why Betancourt is no longer under investigation.”

The Justice Department disputed that Blanche personally directed prosecutors to shut the case, calling the claim “a complete fabrication,” the Friday report said. Betancourt, who is now a partner in Trump’s Venezuelan oil plan, was never charged with a crime.

“Now we have an opportunity to do something that I believe is going to benefit everyone,” Rubio said in the interview. “But specifically, in the long term, benefit the Venezuelan people.”

Displeased CBS News legend scolds viewers angry at Bari Weiss takeover

Returning CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell took to Instagram to plead with viewers not to let her boss, Bari Weiss, scare them away.

CBS Mornings announced O'Donnell's return in an Instagram post, and Zeteo media columnist Justin Baragona pointed out in a post on X how she began defending Weiss, the CBS editor-in-chief, in the comments. Weiss has come under fire as the ratings for CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News have plummeted and the network's flagship show, "60 Minutes," has lost veteran correspondents.

Instagram user @courtneylonniestevens wrote, "I feel Norah is too good to stay with CBS. I wish some other news force had scooped her up. As long as Bari Weiss and the Ellisons are in charge bye bye," referring to David Ellison, the CEO of CBS' parent company, Paramount, and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The Ellisons have been criticized as Trump allies.

"This is so silly," O'Donnell replied. "Just watch our show!"

"This is tough," wrote another Instagram user, @stormy.angel.ghc. "But I can't watch CBS anymore with Bari Weiss running things. Love Nora tho."

"This makes no sense," O'Donnell responded. "Watch our show."

"NO!! Go to another network," Instagram user @scammbuster wrote. "I will never watch a minute of CBS programming after the Colbert/60 minutes fiasco. You deserve better CBS!"

The comment referred to the ending of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a CBS show that was critical of Trump, as Paramount sought the green light from the Trump Justice Department for a merger with Skydance. Paramount is now seeking a merger with rival movie studio Warner Bros. Discovery.

O'Donnell responded, "@scammbuster thanks for commenting. Give us a try."

Many of the comments on the Instagram post lamented that O'Donnell was coming back while Weiss was in charge. On X, the reactions to Baragona's post echoed the feeling.

"Sorry, @norahODonnell," wrote Grant Stern, the executive editor of Occupy Democrats. "It's not silly. You're going to tarnish yourself at CBS. The internet never forgets."

Copyright © 2026 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | Manage Preferences | Debug Logs RS+
For corrections contact corrections@rawstory.com , for support contact support@rawstory.com .

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}