The Daily Beast reports (via MS) Mar-a-Lago Judge’s Stark Ruling: Jury Sees Secret Files or Trump Wins:
In coming up with how to explain the nation’s complex national security restrictions to jurors who will ultimately determine whether Trump is guilty, Cannon came up with a scheme that would make federal prosecutors the most uncomfortable possible.
Cannon’s evening order alerted federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team that they “must engage with the following competing scenarios” when considering whether Trump can be charged with “unauthorized possession”: Either “a jury is permitted to examine” every record a former president swipes and claims as “personal” to determine whether it is, or jurors must be told that “a president has sole authority… to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency.”
Politico:
“There doesn't have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump said. “You're the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it's declassified, even by thinking about it.”
Is this as insane as it seems? According to the Daily Beast article, the ruling is appealable to the 11th Circuit. Is this Smith’s chance to finally ask for Cannon’s removal?
Edit: The legal experts who have weighed in on Cannon’s order seem more concerned about Cannon making the Presidential Records Act (rather than the Espionage Act) the issue and letting jurors decide if documents have been classified correctly, than they are concerned about the security of classified documents made available to jurors.