Judge Aileen Cannon changed how proceedings were handled during Thursday's hearing regarding Donald Trump's classified documents case.
Counsels for Trump and the federal government convened Thursday in Fort Pierce, Florida, with the defense arguing that Trump's position as a former president and the vagueness of the Espionage Act should result in the dismissal of the case. Cannon, a Trump appointee, heard arguments that the Presidential Records Act [PRA] allowed him to keep documents because they were his personal property.
Trump is charged with illegally retaining sensitive materials after he left the White House in January 2021 and then obstructing the federal government's attempts for retrieval. The former president and the GOP's 2024 presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty to 40 charges and labeled the allegations against him as politically motivated.
Trump's attorneys presented their arguments first for the two motions and then the government countered those arguments in opposition, MSNBC's Katie Phang reported on X, formerly Twitter, from the courtroom on Thursday.
"[In my opinion]: it's odd Cannon isn't tackling one motion at a time, allowing the defense to argue first, then have the Government respond, and then the defense getting up for rebuttal argument," Phang wrote. "With what she's doing today, it runs the risk of things getting all jumbled & disorganized."
But she seemed to quickly change her tune. "Looks like Judge Cannon has changed her mind and will allow the Government to respond to the defense's arguments to dismiss based on unconstitutional vagueness and then have the Defense do rebuttal [Which is the normal and usual way to do things]," Phang later wrote.
Trump, whose name was only mentioned once during the hearing, per CNN, sat alongside his attorneys Todd Blanche, Christopher Kise and Emil Bove. Trump's valet and fellow defendant Walt Nauta was present with counsel while another defendant, property manager Carlos de Oliveira, was represented by two attorneys.
Special Counsel Jack Smith was present on behalf of the government, joined by Jay Bratt and David Harbach.
The judge told a Trump attorney that striking down a statute would be "quite an extraordinary step," the Associated Press reported. However, she also told the prosecution that no former president has ever been charged with mishandling classified documents.
Newsweek reached out via email to Trump attorney Kise and the DOJ for comment.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's classified documents case was on full display earlier this week when Special Counsel Robert Hur testified in front of U.S. House members regarding his interview with the president. The transcript of his interview drew ire from Democrats due to negative connotations regarding Biden's age and memory.
Lisa Rubin, a former lawyer and legal analyst for MSNBC, said before the hearing that the current proceedings scheduled for May 20 may be pushed back to beyond the November election—or thrown out altogether.
"She has yet to issue a scheduling order setting a trial date," Rubin said on MSNBC on Thursday. "In the meantime, she's hearing arguments today on two motions to dismiss. I'm not a betting person, probably would make a miserable one, but the fact she set oral arguments on two motions to dismiss makes me think maybe she thinks she can get rid of this case without setting a trial date.
"That is frightening, given the gravity of the charges here and the evidence that supports those charges."
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
