Judge Cannon's new orders in Trump docs case make her next move 'difficult to determine'

Judge Cannon on Sunday issued two new orders in Donald Trump's criminal case over classified documents in Florida, further mystifying a legal expert about her next move and setting the stage for a Friday hearing.

Trump was indicted in the case by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who accused the former president of stashing away classified documents from the White House and refusing to return them when subpoenaed by federal authorities. Trump has consistently claimed he had a right to keep the documents, and even said he couldn't be prosecuted because he is immune from prosecution because he deemed the documents "personal" while he was president.

More recently, Smith sought to keep Cannon from making certain witness information public, and Cannon sought information from the parties on that topic.

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In one paperless order made public on Sunday, Cannon confirmed that she held a meeting with Trump's legal team on the issue.

"The court heard argument from counsel on defense theories" in connection with classified information, according to the order. Seven Trump attorneys were listed as in attendance.

"Cannon verifying she held the final CIPA section 4 hearing with Trump’s lawyers on Friday," national security attorney Bradley Moss said Sunday. "It’s becoming very difficult to determine if she will issue rulings before Friday’s day long scheduling hearing, or if she will issue rulings from the bench that day."

In a second order, Cannon put Smith on a deadline.

"On or before February 28, 2024, the Special Counsel shall file a Reply in Support of its Motion for Reconsideration," she wrote.

"Cannon gives Smith until Wednesday to file any further reply regarding the reconsideration motion," Moss added in a separate post. "Yet another thing that arguably needs to be finalized by Friday’s hearing."

Cannon has faced critiques of her competency. A Trump appointee whose decisions have raised concerns about bias toward the former president, Cannon could be facing removal from the case, according to an analysis by legal experts Norm Eisen and Joshua Kolb.

This new analysis came shortly after Cannon ordered Smith to turn over information to the defense team, despite Smith laying out compelling evidence that it could be used to put people in danger.

"Why do we think Smith might be headed to the court of appeals?" wrote Eisen and Kolb. "In part because he has already sought reconsideration for the latest of Cannon’s unlawful orders. This is a step that is warranted only in rare circumstances, including when a judge has made a 'clear error' that led to 'manifest injustice.' In this instance, at Trump’s behest, Cannon has decided to unseal the identities of two dozen potential witnesses, along with sensitive information they provided to the government."

"The 'clear error' Smith identifies is striking," Eisen and Kolb continue. "He alleges that Cannon applied the wrong legal standard in making this decision, requiring him to make a far more stringent showing than should be needed to protect these names. In his motion for reconsideration, Smith shows that the case law — including the very cases Cannon herself cited in her order — does not establish the unreasonable hurdles she wants him to clear."

Further, Smith lays out in his filings a “well-documented pattern in which judges, agents, prosecutors, and witnesses involved in cases involving Trump have been subject to threats, harassment, and intimidation.”