MSNBC legal analysts have warned Judge Eileen Cannon, who is set to continue hearings into next week alleging that the special counsel in President Trump’s classified documents case was illegally appointed, to stay within her “powers.”
“You go your own way,” MSNBC legal analyst and New York University law professor Melissa Murray said in comments directed at Cannon on “All In with Chris Hayes” on Friday. Mediaite.
Cannon held his opening day of arguments on Friday, but Trump’s legal team is hoping to again dismiss or at least postpone what is widely seen as the clearest of the former president’s four lawsuits.
The Trump campaign’s argument is that Special Counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland because his special duties and confirmation were not given by Congress.
The defense argued that the appointment of Smith was within Garland’s authority as attorney general, and noted that a similar argument was not upheld in the Trump administration’s challenge to the appointment of Robert Mueller. Despite the precedent-based backlash, Cannon opted not to rule immediately.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, has been described as a partisan ally of the former president, and her willingness to accept this latest argument from the Trump campaign is alarming, given that the special counsel selection process is exhaustive.
“If this is a real issue, it will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, not a district court judge in Fort Pierce, Florida,” Murray concluded.
Judge Cannon has long frustrated prosecutors by giving in to Trump’s defense. In September, before Trump was indicted in June 2023, she granted Trump’s request that an independent special assistant review classified documents found in the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago. A federal appeals panel later unanimously overturned her decision.
The New York Times reported Thursday that when the case was randomly assigned to Cannon, two judges tried to persuade him to take it on. The judges reportedly urged Cannon to consider the impact of taking on a former president’s case.
The hearing is expected to continue on Monday, with the two sides expected to continue arguing about Smith’s appointment as well as a limited gag order against Trump proposed by prosecutors to protect law enforcement officers involved in the August 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid.
