Trump is doing 'the last thing Judge Cannon wants' as she tries to protect him: analyst

By his words and by his actions, Donald Trump is making it difficult for Judge Aileen Cannon to put her thumb on the scale in his favor as she issues rulings that appear to be designed to derail his obstruction of government trial.

Reacting to Cannon's ruling to put off the question about the application of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) to the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, until the trial begins, the New Republic's Greg Sargent suggested a Trump Truth Social posting only stirred up more worries that he fully expects her to protect him since he appointed her to her lifetime appointment.

As the analyst explained, Cannon's latest ruling, "actually made it easier for herself to kill the case later, or to steer a jury toward an acquittal," however Trump couldn't leave well enough alone by pointing out, "He [Trump] doesn’t bother hiding his expectation that Cannon—who was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in 2020—will put a heavy thumb on the scale in his favor. That complicates Cannon’s efforts to maintain that objective legal aura she’s striving for."

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At issue is Trump's assertion that Smith must be "sanctioned or censured for the way he is attacking a highly respected Judge, Aileen Cannon," for putting her on the spot over her controversial and much-derided jury instruction request that led Smith to hint at going to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for relief.

Noting that Trump also called Cannon “highly respected,” Sargeant claimed it putting her moves under more scrutiny.

"Having all this out in the open is the last thing Cannon wants, because by all indications, she’s striving to appear neutral in the case—while sneakily leaving the door open to help Trump later," he wrote. "To wit: Cannon didn’t rule on Trump’s claim that he was authorized under the PRA to take the documents. Had she done so in his favor, as many legal experts noted, it would have been subject to appeal. But by deferring that question, Cannon has given herself two options later: Instruct the jury at trial to take that argument seriously into account, making acquittal more likely, or dismiss the case herself on those grounds."

"To the degree that Trump makes it explicit that he fully expects Cannon to scuttle the case, it complicates executing this game with credibility," he added before predicting, "Cannon does not seem to relish being perceived as a servant of this twisted ethos. Trump doesn’t seem to care; he’s openly telling the world exactly what he expects her to do for him. We can only hope Trump has left her no option but to prove him wrong."

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