This Could Get Judge Cannon Removed From Trump Case, Glenn Kirschner Warns

Judge Aileen Cannon could be asked to recuse herself from former President Donald Trump's classified documents case if she "continues to make questionable rulings," former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said on Sunday.

Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, has been assigned to oversee proceedings in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) case in which the former president has been charged with 37 federal offenses over allegations that he illegally retained secret and sensitive materials after he left office, and then obstructed a federal attempt to retrieve them from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Meanwhile, Trump plead not guilty in the case during his arraignment.

Last year, Cannon made a number of rulings in favor of Trump. Those decisions included the appointment of a special master to review the thousands of seized materials, which the DOJ did not deem necessary, and then choosing Raymond Dearie for the role, who was one of two picks put forward by Trump's counsel.

The move temporarily barred prosecutors from examining the top-secret materials retrieved from Mar-a-Lago and could not be used as evidence in the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit later ruled in favor of the DOJ on appeal, stating that Cannon had "improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction," and lifted the block imposed by the judge.

While speaking to MSNBC host Katie Phang on Sunday, Kirschner, a staunch critic of the former president, said he was surprised DOJ special counsel Jack Smith has not filed a motion asking for Cannon's recusal, but one still may come "if she continues to make questionable rulings."

Phang then asked him about how Cannon is handling questions about whether indicted Trump aides Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira should have access to secret documents as part of their defense. De Oliveira is accused of attempting to help Trump delete security footage from Mar-a-Lago, and making false statements to the FBI over whether he helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago.

Kirschner replied, "I do not want to be unkind, but I do not think she will manage them well."

He added: "She has a track record, unfortunately, that involves the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that she abused her judicial discretion; and did something that the law does not allow to the extreme benefit of Donald Trump. I maintained the minute I saw those appellate court opinions that her impartiality can reasonably be questioned. And the federal law provides that if a judge's impartiality can reasonably be questioned, that does not mean she can't be fair, she can't be impartial, it just means if there are reasonable questions that can be asked about her impartiality, she is actually required under the federal law to recuse herself, to remove herself from the case."

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek on Sunday that it's possible Cannon could eventually be removed from the case.

"But the burden is so high that I think it is unlikely to happen," he said. "That's one reason why Jack Smith has not requested her removal: He knows it's very unlikely to happen at this point and such a request would delay matters further."

Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional lawyer and professor at Georgia State University, agreed with Aronberg and told Newsweek on Sunday, "It's incredibly unlikely that a judge will be removed from a case just because of their judicial rulings, even when they're reversible. It's just wish casting at this point."

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, added that it's relatively rare.

"Indeed, even reversed judges are rarely removed on remand. It requires a considerable showing of bias to show that the continuance of the judge would be inimical to a fair trial," he told Newsweek on Sunday.