Donald Trump’s long history of targeting judges took a rare turn on Thursday when the four-times indicted ex-president praised and defended U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he appointed and who is overseeing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Espionage Act, national security, and classified documents case against him.
On his Truth Social platform Trump baselessly accused President Joe Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Special Counsel Smith of trying “to illegally intimidate and harass respected Federal Judge Aileen Cannon.” He also alleged Garland and Smith are calling Cannon “terrible names, wrongfully threatening her with Impeachment, and disrespecting her,” while Trump deemed her “fair and impartial.”
“These Persecutors are using Third World tactics in a corrupt ploy to ‘play the ref,'” Trump wrote, as he decried the “Weaponization of Law Enforcement, the Harassment of Fair Judges, and rampant Election Interference.”
On Friday Trump will hold a joint press conference on “election integrity” at his Mar-a-Lago residence and resort with embattled Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
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Trump previously has praised Judge Cannon”s actions in his case, calling her “a brilliant and courageous Judge whose words of wisdom rang true throughout our Nation,” as USA Today reported earlier this month.
The paper also pointed out Judge Cannon has been overruled twice by a higher court in the Trump case, including in a scathing rebuke which came from a three-judge 11th Circuit panel. Two of the three judges had been appointed by Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the overturning of one of those decisions.
Cannon has also been rebuked by numerous legal experts and commentators.
Attorney and Sirius XM host Dean Obeidallah last week wrote: “The conduct of Trump owned Judge Aileen Cannon in Trump’s Espionage case is what judicial corruption looks like. She’s giving him special treatment in hope he wins in 2024 and in exchange Trump puts her on US Supreme Court or US Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals should swiftly remove her from case.”
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MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor of 30 years, on Monday wrote, “Judge Cannon isn’t even trying to hide her special treatment of Trump. Just look at her two-page pamphlet (I can’t call it ‘ruling’), in which she reserves her right to dismiss the charges during the trial, at which point Jack Smith CAN’T APPEAL!”
On Saturday Kirschner had called her biased and called for her removal from the case.
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