January 8, 2025

Aileen M. Cannon, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida

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Florida federal judge overseeing secret criminal documents case against former President Donald Trump has been targeted More than 1,000 complaints In just one week this month, one woman made allegations about her handling of the case supreme court of appeal the judge disclosed in the order.

The complaints against Judge Erin Cannon come to light as some legal observers and Trump opponents renew criticism of her for moving slowly on criminal cases against the former president to ensure they don’t go to trial before the presidential election. .

The chief judge said “numerous complaints” were filed against Cannon with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, “requiring the chief circuit judge to remove her from the classified documents case and reassign the case to another judge.” William Pryor wrote An order was posted on the Court of Appeal website on May 22.

“Many of the complaints against Judge Cannon also question the correctness of her ruling or her delay in issuing a ruling in this case,” Pryor wrote.

Pryor said the complaints, filed since May 16, “appear to be part of an orchestrated campaign.” case.

Cannon’s public critics point to her delays in ruling on multiple pending motions, allowing Trump’s lawyers to hold hearings on legal issues that could otherwise be easily resolved through court filings, and criticize special counsel Jack Documents from Smith’s prosecutor.

Trump, who appointed Cannon to the bench, is accused in the case of withholding confidential government records at his Mar-a-Lago club residence in Palm Beach, Florida, after he left the White House and trying to hide them from seeking rehab. of officials.

The Republican presidential candidate, who pleaded not guilty in the case, was found guilty by a New York state court jury on Thursday of 34 felonies related to a 2016 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

In a May 22 order regarding the complaints, Pryor wrote that he “has considered and dismissed four of the orchestrated complaints because they were relevant to the merits and based on allegations that lacked sufficient evidence to infer that There has been misconduct.

He also wrote that neither he nor the Court of Appeals Judicial Committee had the authority to remove Cannon from the case under the Judicial Conduct and Judicial Disability Proceedings Rules.

“While many complaints allege improper motives for delaying the case, these allegations are speculative and unsupported by any evidence,” Pryor wrote.

“The indictment also does not prove that Judge Cannon was asked to recuse himself from the case because he was appointed by then-President Trump.”

The chief judge also wrote that prior to May 16, Cannon received “multiple complaints of judicial misconduct or incompetence” in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, “raising allegations related to Trump’s criminal case.”

“Action has already been taken on some of these complaints, and action will be taken on others in due course,” Pryor wrote, without disclosing the nature of those actions.

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Pryor said he recommended that the Judiciary Committee order the Clerk of the Court of Appeals not to accept complaints against Cannon received after May 16 “so long as they are similar to complaints previously filed.” According to the order, the commission adopted the recommendation.

Pryor also wrote that while the judicial complaints process “is not the appropriate means to seek review of Judge Cannon’s order, her order would still be subject to appellate review under normal circumstances.”

CNBC has requested comment from Cannon through the Office of the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Glenn Kirschner is an attorney and former federal prosecutor Podcast Justice Matters Earlier this week, Cannon aired an episode titled “Judge Erin Cannon Puts Trump’s Secret Documents/Obstruction/Espionage Case to a Stop.”

The description of the episode on Apple Podcasts states, “Trump-appointed Judge Erin Cannon should not be presiding over Trump’s federal prosecution in Florida.”

“She has refused to promptly resolve the motion or even set a trial date, bringing the case to a screeching halt. Judge Cannon is not an honest legal broker, and federal law requires that a judge be removed when he/she is “likely to be reasonably questioned.” “

The episode links to a YouTube video in which Kirschner explains how to file a complaint against Cannon by mailing it to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“A lot of people took advantage of the step-by-step video and filed judicial complaint forms,” ​​Kirschner said on the podcast.

CNBC has asked Kirchner to comment on Pryor’s order.

Pryor was part of a three-judge appeals court panel that issued a scathing ruling in December 2022 overturning the outside oversight body appointed by Cannon to determine whether FBI agents had taken over the sea. Whether the documents seized at Lake Manor could be used in the ongoing criminal investigation.

“This appeal requires us to consider whether the district court had the authority to prevent the United States from using lawfully seized records in a criminal investigation,” the panel wrote. “The answer is no.”

“The law is clear. We cannot create a rule that would allow any subject of a search warrant to block a government investigation after the warrant is executed,” the panel wrote. “We also can’t make a rule that only former presidents are allowed to do this.”

“The district court improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction in this case.”

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