TRUMP MAY GET LUCKY ON CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

By Bob Walsh

Judge Aileen Cannon and Special Counsel Jack Smith 

 

Aileen Cannon is a judge of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  She is presiding over Trump's classified documents case.

She has decided to expand the subject matter of a hearing on calendar for later this month.  Among the things that will be considered is if the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel is even legal.  The hearing is scheduled for June 21.

There is significant reason to believe that the appointment is in violation of the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.  It should be noted that Smith was a private citizen at the time of his appointment and not an employee of the government.  That is apparently an important consideration.  In addition the position he now fills was not approved by congress nor was the position funded by congress.

The matter has also been address by congressional committee.  Attorney General Garland was less than happy and less than pleasant at the hearing.  Among other things addressed by the Judiciary Committee was allegations of the A.G.s office fiddling with the evidence.   The AG has admitted reluctantly that the order of the documents seized is no longer what it was when the documents were grabbed.  The AG originally denied that this had occurred even though it was clear that the changes had in fact occurred.

The trial itself will not proceed until SCOTUS rules on Trump's presidential immunity claims.