Legal expert explains what’s 'just baffling' about how Judge Cannon is 'spending her time'

MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin tore into US District Court Judge Aileen Cannon — who's presiding over Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago classified documents case — over the Trump-appointed judge's tendency to drag her feet in moving the case forward.

MSNBC's The Weekend co-host Michael Steele sat in for Inside with Jen Psaki host Jen Psaki Sunday, speaking with Rubin about Cannon's evident incompetence.

"It is absolutely amazing to me, Lisa, in the sense that you've got Judge Cannon, who seemingly is spending a lot of time scrutinizing everyone else in every other aspect of this trial, except the defendant himself, who is accused of illegally retaining classified documents," Steele said. "What are we missing here?"

READ MORE: Trump focuses on another federal judge — this time defending 'impartial' Aileen Cannon

Rubin replied, "I don't think you're missing very much, Michael, at all. In fact, one of the things that has folks like me scratching our heads is that in terms of how she is allocating her time to that backlog of motions [she has pending], for example, gave almost two full days to the question of whether or not [Department of Justice special counsel] Jack Smith was lawfully appointed."

The legal analyst continued, "But when Jack Smith went to her and said, 'We need to modify Trump's bail conditions because his speech is threatening the safety of people involved in the investigation.' Judge Cannon said, literally, 'You can have two hours this coming Tuesday.' So, the fact that she is allocating her time in the way that she is, given the gravity of the situation —Jack Smith's office just told her, for example, the other day, 'Hey, we need you to modify these conditions, because there was a real threat aimed at an FBI official on June 11.'"

"This is not speculative or conjectural. This is imminent and real. And yet, how is Judge Cannon spending her time? Thinking about whether Jack Smith was lawfully appointed in ways that the Supreme Court and two circuit courts in recent years have already considered and rejected. It's just baffling, Michael."

Watch the video at this link.