By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on June 11, 2023
An Analysis and Editorial Opinion
Donald J. Trump caught a huge break when U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Mercedes Cannon was assigned to preside over his 37-count classified documents case. Cannon, who was born in Cali, Columbia in 1981 to a Cuban refugee mother and an American father, is a pro-Trump judge who demonstrated her loyalty to the former president during the judicial proceedings that challenged the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago in August of 2022.
The Department of Justice appealed Cannon’s unprecedented and controversial decisions to intervene in the criminal investigation and appoint an independent special master to review the documents seized in the raid. The ultra-conservative 11th Circuit Court of Appeals severely rebuked Cannon for her intervention in the criminal investigation of Trump case. However, Cannon was not fazed by this smackdown.
Judge Cannon is expected to kill this criminal case and free Donald Trump from all 37 felony charges pending against him. Here is why and how:
Trump Ramrodded Cannon’s Judgeship Confirmation in Congress After His 2020 Defeat
In June 2019, the office of Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) indicated to Cannon that he was considering her for a position of United States district judge. Rubio and Cannon are politically compatible Floridians of Cuban descent.
Cannon expressed interest that month, and subsequently was interviewed by representatives for Senator Rubio and Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida).
On May 21, 2020, at age 39, Cannon was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
On July 29, 2020, a hearing was held before the United States Judiciary Committee on Cannon’s nomination.
On September 17, 2020, Cannon’s nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote.
On November 12, 2020, the United States Senate confirmed Cannon’s nomination by a 56–21 vote. She received her commission on November 13, 2020.
Cannon Owes Her Lifetime Federal Judgeship to Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott
Aileen Cannon owes her lifetime federal judgeship to Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scott. Her nomination should have died with Trump’s defeat on November 3, 2020.
Thanks to incredible political work by Trump, Rubio, Scott, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, Aileen Cannon became a federal judge for life.
Understandably, Aileen Cannon is a Trump loyalist. Trump and his Republican allies rammed Cannon’s May 2020 nomination through Congress after Trump had lost the election. By doing this, Trump demonstrated his undying loyalty to Cannon, first.
Under these unique facts and political circumstances, Judge Cannon does not give a damn about her relationship with her fellow judges on the federal bench in Miami, or her judicial reputation, or the lofty opinions of lawyers who practice in the federal criminal justice system regarding her handling of Trump's case.
Judge Cannon grew up in Miami. Within Cannon's Cuban-American heritage and culture , loyalty to those who show their loyalty first trumps all other considerations. Donald Trump did that for Cannon.
What is more, Judge Cannon has her eye on an appointment to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been a member of the ultra-conservative Federalist Society since 2005. Cannon will likely be Clarence Thomas’ replacement on the Supreme Court, if Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. She is cut from the same cloth as Thomas.
Killing Jack Smith’s Case Against Trump is Easy
There are several ways Judge Cannon can easily kill Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against Donald Trump. Here are a few:
First, Cannon can delay the proceedings forever by making rulings that can't be appealed.
Second, Cannon can limit or exclude crucial evidence by saying it was wrongfully gathered or not relevant. She can also exclude statements made by Trump by simply finding that they were campaign rhetoric and hyperbole, or that they are “too prejudicial.”
Third, Cannon can limit the testimony of national security experts and/or government archivist, which she will surely do.
Fourth, after she cripples Jack Smith’s case through her restrictive evidentiary rulings, Judge Cannon can push the case toward a trial and impanel a jury. Once the jury is impaneled, Cannon can grant Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges. Granting such a motion would end the case. Double jeopardy would prevent Smith from retrying Trump on the 37 charges in this Indictment.
Finally, Judge Cannon can grant Trump a directed verdict of acquittal at the end of the government's case, or at the end of all evidence presented by the government and the defense.
Only the truly naïve among us believe that today’s federal judges make judicial decisions in high-profile political cases based upon the law and facts. In truth, cases of this nature in federal courts across the nation are decided by: (a) the parties’ political affiliations, (b) the political affiliation and socio-economic agenda of the trial judge, and (c) the amount and nature of ex parte contact with the trial judge.
Ex parte messages to federal trial judges are usually back-channeled through the U.S. Senators from the nominee's state who sponsored his/her judgeship. In Cannon’s case, this would be Senator Marco Rubio. Senator Rick Scott would be the backup messenger.
Sometimes the backchannel messenger is the judge’s financial benefactor, as is the case with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Billionaire Harlon Crowe is Thomas’ handler.
Based upon Judge Cannon's previous rulings in Donald Trump's case, she will not need much in the way of backchannel messaging. Cannon already knows what her mission is, and what political plume awaits her.
Judge Aileen Cannon will NOT disappoint Donald Trump and his political supporters.
The "Death Knell" Playbook for Judge Cannon
The "death knell" playbook for Judge Cannon to restrict evidence and throw out the entire case against Donald Trump was developed and successfully implemented by former Birmingham, Alabama U.S. District Court Judge U.W. Clemon in the case of U.S. v. Don Siegelman, Paul Hamrick, and Phillip Bobo (2004).
On May 27, 2004, Siegelman was indicted by a federal government in Birmingham for fraud. The day after his trial began in October 2004, prosecutors were forced to drop all charges against Siegelman and Hamrick after Judge Clemon threw out much of the prosecution's evidence.
Clemon, a longtime Democratic power-player, was the first black federal judge in Alabama history. He was nominated to the federal bench by Jimmy Carter. Donald Siegelman was the Democratic governor of Alabama (1999 to 2003). Siegelman ran for governor in 2004 and lost to Republican Bob Riley.
On October 26, 2005, federal prosecutors indicted Siegelman and former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard Scrushy on public corruption charges. In June of that year, Scrushy defeated federal prosecutors in an original 85-count Indictment arising from a $2.7 billion accounting fraud scheme at HealthSouth.
Judge Clemon’s playbook also shows Cannon how to hold Jack Smith and members of his prosecution team in contempt of court and/or lock them up, if she chooses to do so.
All that Donald Trump is lacking in his Miami case is experienced criminal defense lawyers who have a demonstrated track-record of trying and winning cases in the “gladiator pit.” This caliber of lawyers is needed to give Judge Cannon cover for her judicial actions in killing Trump's case. The lawyers Trump has now are not "gladiators."