In another blatantly cynical move to delay the MAL documents case against Donald Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon has expanded the hearing on June 21st to consider Trump’s lawyers’ motion that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was “illegal” and the case be dismissed. Now, there are amicus briefs from outsiders for and against this very motion.
You really cannot make this shit up.
The brief order issued later Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon allowed roughly 30 minutes of argument each on June 21 for South Texas College of Law Professor Josh Blackman, attorney Gene Schaerr, a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia representing ex-Bush and Reagan administration U.S. Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Edwin Meese, and Matthew Seligman, an attorney representing an anti-Trump coalition of constitutional lawyers and former high-ranking government officials.
So two who think that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith is illegal versus one who thinks the motion is nonsense.
And if you are wondering, this very move has been tried in other cases with special counsels, and THEY HAVE ALL FAILED!
Similar challenges from Trump and other high-level targets of special counsel probes have flopped from coast to coast in recent years: Hunter Biden’s attorney didn’t get anywhere with judges in Los Angeles and Delaware; Paul Manafort’s arguments fell flat when the former Trump campaign chairman challenged special counsel Robert Mueller’s authority; and Andrew Miller, a former associate of Roger Stone, also lost his challenge to Mueller’s authority.
But Cannon is going — literally — through the motions to look like she is working, when in fact this is another in a long line of delay tactics to benefit Donald Trump. I’m convinced she will never rule on this motion. As long as Cannon makes no decisions, the case against Trump does not move forward. A wrong decision by her will only lead to Jack Smith appealing to the 11th Circuit, which will end with her being removed from the case.
Cannon knows this, and it’s why she is killing this case with non-decisions on frivilous motions.
IANAL, but the only move left to Jack Smith is to wait for Trump to threaten the FBI AGAIN. Once this happens, I believe that Smith will then have to go to the 11th Circuit and argue for her removal because she refuses to tighten up the bail restrictions and issue a gag order against Trump. You will have noticed that Jack Smith resubmitted his motion for a gag order, and Cannon is taking her time to get the paperwork from Trump’s lawyers to supposedly “consider” Smith’s request for a gag order.
Cannon has no inclination to rule on a gag order either. It’s while she is dithering that Smith will have to bite the bullet and take his chances with the 11th Circuit on removing Cannon. But it’s the only move left to Smith if he wants to protect witnesses and FBI agents from Trump’s incitement of violence from one of his many unstable followers.
