Jack Smith 'finally' has a path to boot Judge Aileen Cannon from Trump trial: analyst

Florida federal judge Aileen Cannon's latest ruling sets up a path for special counsel Jack Smith to demand her recusal from former President Donald Trump's classified documents case, MSNBC analyst Jordan Rubin explained Tuesday.

The ruling in question was Cannon's decision to smack down Smith's demand that Trump be prevented from attacking FBI officials — a ruling Jordan argues was carefully crafted to prevent him from being able to appeal the decision.

Cannon, herself a Trump appointee who has been paid to attend right-wing judicial junkets in Montana, has spent the last several months tilting the pretrial process in Trump's favor, recently suspending the case indefinitely because of several unresolved legal disputes that she sat on with no action.

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The latest dispute stems from Trump's promotion of debunked conspiracy theories that the FBI ordered a hit on him. Smith moved to ask Cannon to restrain Trump from pushing attacks on federal law enforcement, citing a danger to their lives, and Trump's attorneys responded with a motion to slap sanctions on Smith.

"As ever, the lawyers in the case are living on different planets, and Cannon’s response shows that she’s still living on something closer to Trump’s," wrote Rubin.

"In an order Tuesday, the Trump appointee who’s been slow-walking the case denied Smith’s motion 'for lack of meaningful conferral.' She also chastised the government’s use of 'editorialized footnotes' and what she deemed its lack of professional courtesy. Importantly, however, she denied Smith’s motion 'without prejudice,' meaning that the Justice Department can try again after complying with the judge’s procedural dictates."

Importantly, though, Smith can resolve this issue by meeting with Trump's lawyers to discuss the issue, and then bringing forth the issue to Cannon again — which could put her on the spot to make a definitive, appealable ruling.

"While the government will be able to clear Cannon’s procedural formality, the bigger question will be how she receives the substance of the presumably forthcoming motion," Rubin wrote.

"Given her handling of the case thus far and the tone of her latest order, Smith may have a tough task with this judge yet again, one that could finally lead to the special counsel taking Cannon up on appeal and possibly building a case to try and get a new judge to preside."

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