Judge Cannon sets docs hearing that 'could signal she plans to hold trial before election'

The judge overseeing the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case has scheduled a hearing to discuss the motions by former President Donald Trump and his body man Walt Nauta to dismiss the charges against them.

Judge Aileen Cannon "has now scheduled a non-evidentiary hearing on 3/14 at 10 am for Trump’s Motion to Dismiss for unconstitutional vagueness and Nauta’s Motion to Dismiss based on Presidential Records Act," reported MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang on Thursday.

This comes after Cannon set off warning bells with some legal analysts when she put out a filing that appeared to indicate she was sympathetic to these claims. Others weren't so sure.

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"I always found it odd Trump proposed such a quick turnaround on the pre-trial motion bearing," noted attorney and legal commentator Bradley Moss.

"Judge Cannon sets all day hearing a week from today on several motions in Trump classified documents case," reported Josh Gerstein, POLITICO's Senior Legal Affairs Reporter. "Haste could signal she plans to hold trial before election or keep option open, but she hasn't said one way or other."

Cannon, a right-wing judge appointed by Trump himself, has been controversial throughout this case for a series of decisions that appear to give preferential treatment to the former president.

Even before the indictment came down, Cannon tried to block the FBI from reviewing classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, insisting they be turned over to a special master to determine if they really were classified — which a conservative 11th Circuit appellate panel promptly rebuked her for. More recently, she has demanded that special counsel Jack Smith turn over information about witnesses to Trump's legal team, despite repeated warnings from Smith that the information could be used to facilitate witness tampering.