A federal judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents has signaled an openness to the former U.S. president’s defense claims, in a sign that prosecutors might face a difficult road ahead.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, has asked Trump and prosecutors to propose jury instructions based on two legal scenarios that favor a claim from Trump that national security lawyers said have little relevance to the charges.
Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case, face a Tuesday deadline to respond to the judge’s order.
The dispute is another instance of Cannon lending credence to Trump’s legal arguments about highly sensitive records taken to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when he left the White House in 2021.
“who was nominated to the bench by trump” Isn’t this a blatant conflict of interest?
It’s such a politically loaded issue… I think the ideal would be like a Bush appointed judge. I doubt that’s going to happen though.
No.
That’s both sad and true. If it weren’t, the system would be even more politically stilted than it is.
Her middle name is Mercedes, lol
I actually like the name Mercedes. It predates the car by a long time. It’s from Spanish Vulgar Latin and it means “Mercy” (although it was also another name for the Virgin Mary).
Anyway, there’s Mercedes Lackey the science fiction author and Mercedes McCambridge, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for the film All the King’s Men (although I think of her as being a regular on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater with a very memorable voice).
Also, I can’t really criticize someone for what someone else named them. If Martin Luther King, Sr. named his son Kill Negroes King (not that he would have), it wouldn’t reflect Dr. King’s legacy. Judge Cannon is a horrible person because she’s a Trump supporter, not because of her middle name.
Edit: This post had more parenthetical phrases than I realized.
The marque is actually named for the daughter of the trademark registrar, Mercédès Adrienne Ramona Manuela Jellinek.
Also one of the main characters in The Count of Monte Cristo. Her character is really what makes the story so good. Her last part of it is what truly makes the story what it is and why it’s regarded as one of the greatest stories.
Fair enough, thanks for the context
Of course it is…
It’s a fairly common spanish name. She’s Colombian-American so it makes sense.
Mercedes
Didn’t Trump accidentally call his wife Mercedes?
She’s risking being taken off this case, isn’t she? I thought people were talking about that not too long ago.
I’ll believe it when I see it, however.
Yes. The “jury instructions” she’s floating are actually the opposite of what the law states. This will be her third strike.
Personally, I think she wants to get removed from the case at a late enough point that another judge can’t get up to speed in time for the trial to start before the election.
That makes sense. Thanks.
Only makes sense if there are actual consequences for her doing this. Like getting disbarred, not just overturned on appeal
I dunno. I’m too far removed to know the rules and processes, but I suspect there are pretty specific conditions for that to happen. Fuck him, fuck her, fuck the system.
The US "justice"system is just beyond a joke.
It’s not a justice system; it’s a legal system. That’s the joke.
That’s because the US is an oligarchy, wholly owned and operated by the 0.01%, masquerading as a democracy.
