In a scathing filing, the special counsel pushed back on Judge Aileen Cannonās interpretations of laws that could define the case against Trump
Special CounselĀ Jack SmithĀ went toe-to-toe with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon over her requests for jury instructions inĀ Donald TrumpāsĀ classified documents case.
In aĀ scathing filingĀ submitted Tuesday, Smith accused Cannon of operating on an āunstated and fundamentally flawed legal premiseā when she requested that the parties in the case draft different versions of their proposed jury instructions based on their competing interpretations of laws governing classified materials and presidential records.
Trump has argued that his retention of classified documents after his ouster from the White House was perfectly legal. Claiming that he both unilaterallyĀ telepathically declassifiedĀ the documents, and that they were simply personal records he was already authorized to take. The former presidentās trial on 40 charges related to his alleged mishandling of the documents is scheduled to begin in May, but willĀ likely be delayed.
Courts self manage their own judges. Usually an appeals court or a state supreme court will punish judges for misconduct. At the Federal level, Iām not sure if it starts at an appeals court or the SCOTUS, but they can definitely punish and remove federal judges as well. Impeachment is also an option, but thatās a hard one to do.
I hear you, and those things seem nice at a glance, but I donāt agree with your sense of guarantee. Weāre seeing an upending of things that āusuallyā happen, or that ādefinitely canā happen, especially with āself-managedā entities such as the SCOTUS. Have you seen judges actually get held accountable recently, even locally?