Judge Aileen Cannon could use new Trump complaint to hamstring Jack Smith: legal expert

Even if it ultimately falls apart, a complaint by Donald Trump's lawyers about the impropriety of second secret grand jury investigating the stolen documents at Mar-a-Lago could hand U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon another opening to delay the trial of the former president.

That is the opinion of one legal observer who spoke with the Daily Beast.

According to the report, the complaint filed by Trump's legal team that there is "potential grand jury abuse" which led to a Judge Cannon rebuke could present an issue for special counsel Jack Smith if the Trump-appointed judge chooses to drag it out or sanction him.

University of Missouri law school professor Frank Bowman admitted to the Beast, "She’s asking questions which are legitimate to be asked. Although I’ve been pretty critical of previous rulings by Judge Cannon in this case—which are so bad as to have been absolutely inexplicable—nonetheless, at least at this point, there’s nothing untoward in her asking for some explanation of what special counsel’s up to.”

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Explaining the situation, the Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery wrote, "There appears to be an ongoing grand jury—whose proceedings are secret—in the nation’s capital long after a Miami grand jury already issued an indictment in June. To defense lawyers representing Trump’s Diet Coke valet, Walt Nauta, the existence of an ongoing D.C. grand jury is like taking two bites of the same apple. And Trump’s defense lawyers are raising objections before Cannon," before adding, "it could also allow Cannon to take decisive steps to limit the DOJ’s ongoing investigation."

Legal expert Bowman explained, "It’s not going to result in a dismissal of the original indictment, whether evidence can be used and whether sanctions can be brought against the Special Counsel’s office.”

Bowman added that Smith may have some wiggle room when pressured by Cannon.

RELATED: Judge Cannon may be removed 'if she continues to make questionable rulings': former prosecutor

“He can operate in any federal district. Therefore, it’s not surprising or presumptively inappropriate for him to decide pieces of this investigation belong in District A while the center of gravity is in District B, and we’ll have a grand jury in A and B,” he elaborated. “He’s a different kind of bird than other US attorneys, which is one of the reasons why his method of proceeding here may seem unfamiliar.”

As an aside, Pagliery wrote, that the "latest court filing by defense lawyers is a head-scratcher, raising even more questions about what exactly federal investigators have discovered—and hinting at even more misbehavior by Trump and his Mar-a-Lago employees," before adding, "It’s clear Trump’s lawyers want the judge to shut down this other grand jury before it’s too late—and before it uncovers anything else."

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