Judge Cannon hands Jack Smith a victory in Trump's classified document case

Judge Aileen Cannon handed special counsel Jack Smith a victory in his federal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, court records show.

Cannon Friday ruled that Smith can substitute summaries for some sensitive intelligence materials he'll need to share with Trump and his attorneys as the stalled Florida case slouches toward its yet-to-be-decided court date.

"Upon review of the Motion, relevant filings, arguments raised during hearings, and the full record," writes Cannon, "the Court GRANTS the Special Counsel’s Motion as to Categories 3 and 4 in their entirety, as well as most of the Category 2 requests as set forth in the Court’s Classified Order."

The information in question pertains to lists of potential witnesses — who Smith says have already begun receiving threats on social media — as well as national security documents the Justice Department did not want to hand over to Trump.

Cannon's concession to Smith's demand comes as she faces mounting criticism over a perceived bias toward the former president responsible for her appointment to Florida's Southern District court.

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The federal judge's decisions in the past have twice been slapped down by a conservative 11th Circuit appeals court panel. Cannon's recent decision to grant attorneys two weeks to craft Presidential Records Act jury instructions raised eyebrows among legal experts, who say she's looking for ways to delay.

“She is giving credence to arguments that are on their face absurd,” former federal Judge Nancy Gertner told the Washington Post Wednesday. "She is ignoring a raft of other motions, equally absurd, that are unreasonably delaying the case.”

Delay is the name of the game for Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to 37 counts that include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and concealing a document in a federal investigation.

If Trump can manage both to push the court date to 2025 and win the upcoming presidential election, he would find himself ideally situated to kill the case completely.

That may be why news Smith's victory failed to appease Cannon's critics on social media Friday.

"She's a hack," Eric Edelstein wrote. Replied @dmeneilley, "That’s an insult to hacks."