After special counsel Jack Smith criticized Judge Aileen Cannon, former President Donald Trump (R) attacked him over social media.
Trump referred to Smith as “deranged” and having a “history of failure”. The former president’s gripe with the special counsel stems from his desire to have Trump-appointed judge, Cannon, removed from the case.
The former president has been charged with 37 counts, 31 of which he is accused of making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document and willful retention of national defense information.
Smith stated that the judge’s jury instructions “rest on an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise” and that “the question of whether the PRA [Presidential Records Act] has an impact on the element of unauthorized possession under Section 793(e) does not turn on any evidentiary issue, and it cannot be deferred. It is purely a question of law that must be decided promptly.”
Smith continued, “If the Court were to defer a decision on that fundamental legal question it would inject substantial delay into the trial and, worse, prevent the Government from seeking review before jeopardy attaches.”
Critics have claimed that Cannon has been biased in the case. If Smith believes the claims, he could possibly appeal to the 11th court in Florida, which could have Cannon removed from the case.
Last month, Cannon denied one of the former president’s two motions to dismiss his classified documents case.
Trump’s team has attempted to use the Presidential Records Act as a way to excuse his removal of the classified documents from the White House. Furthermore, he has stated that by removing the documents from the White House, they become personal records. However, special counsel Jack Smith has pushed back on that argument.
Many critics have called out the difference between the treatment of President Joe Biden, who took a significantly lower amount of documents than Trump, and the former president. Special Counsel Robert Hur addressed these issues and stated there are distinct differences between the two, and that the accusations against Trump were much more dangerous than the ones against Biden.
Trump was accused of taking over 300 documents, Biden, on the other hand, took around 50.
