Judge Cannon Should Be Removed From Trump Case, Watchdog Group Argues in New Legal Filing

Judge Aileen M. Cannon has shown bias in throwing out Trump’s classified documents case and must be replaced if the appeals court overturns her decision, argues public interest advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

by Marilyn W. Thompson
Sept. 3, 6:45 p.m. EDT

Judge Aileen M. Cannon has shown bias in handling criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and should be reversed and removed from the case to “preserve the appearance of justice,” a public interest group argued in a legal filing on Tuesday.

The brief filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and joined by a retired federal judge and two constitutional lawyers is a direct legal assault on Cannon’s decision to throw out special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for alleged mishandling of classified documents. CREW is a nonpartisan open-government advocacy group that has been at the vanguard of fighting Trump in various legal battles.

The brief argues that Cannon’s decision “hinged on ignoring the plain text of four federal statutes,” dismissing “a landmark Supreme Court opinion confirming the Attorney General’s power to appoint a Special Counsel.”

CREW writes that “a reasonable member of the public could conclude, as many have, that the dismissal was the culmination of Judge Cannon’s many efforts to undermine and derail the prosecution of this case.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/judge-aileen-cannon-trump-documents-case-ethics-complaint-crew-jack-smith