On Monday, US District Judge Eileen Cannon asked Special Counsel Jack Smith about his condition Use a grand jury out of the area In the Secret Documents case against former President Donald Trump.
Cannon, the South Florida federal judge assigned to the case, is seeking answers from Smith about the “legal appropriateness of using an out-of-county grand jury to continue the investigation and/or order hearings after the indictment on matters relevant to the immediate defendant’s case in this district.”
Most of the classified documents case is being handled outside of Cannon County in South Florida, but some of the grand jury work in the case has also been conducted in Washington, D.C., where the former president was also recently indicted for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Cannon objected to this and questioned why a grand jury would hear evidence in D.C. after a Florida grand jury indicted Trump, and demanded an explanation from Smith by August 22.
“At her command, Canon appears to be crossing the government’s path,” former US Attorney Barb McQuaid, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. “Under the constitutional structure of separation of powers, the executive branch alone has the power to investigate and charge criminal offenses. There is no reason why the Special Counsel should not investigate relevant charges in other counties.”
McQuade gave the example of a witness who lied to the FBI in D.C., implying that the case would be properly charged in D.C. Florida judge.
“It may be embarrassing, but the special counsel may need to politely tell Judge Cannon to drop his position,” she added.
But criminal defense attorney Julia Jean of the San Francisco Bay Area group Jane Law said it was unusual for a case to be investigated by grand juries in different jurisdictions.
“Unless this is a game to drop the Florida-related charges and proceed elsewhere — say, Washington, D.C., where the documents were issued — that’s an odd development,” Jain said. “If the special counsel wants to add charges or continue the investigation into the classified documents case, it will usually be done in the same jurisdiction, where the charges remain pending. In that case, it would be Florida.”
Read more
about this subject
-
First_read_more_article
-
Second_read_more_article
-
Third_read_more_article
Cannon also ordered two sealed coils provided by Smith to be struck into her file from the register. The filings were related to the request that Smith’s team made last week seeking a hearing on potential conflicts of interest that could arise from legal counsel for Walt Nauta, a Trump co-defendant and co-defendant charged alongside Trump. Naota’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, also represents other potential witnesses who may testify against Naota in the proceedings.
Plaintiffs asked a Garcia Listen to inform Woodward’s clients of “potential risks and inquire about possible compromises”.
“Special Counsel emphatically states that the supplement must be sealed from public opinion “to comply with grand jury secrecy,” but the leave application and the supplement clearly fail to meet the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to justify the ruling, Cannon said.
Want a daily wrap-up of all the salon news and reviews? Subscribe to the morning newsletterAn intensive seminar.
Trump last month pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified material after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing information from nuclear secrets to the nation’s defense capabilities. Naota also pleaded not guilty to the related charges.
An overturned indictment later charged Trump, Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago employee. The new charges included two counts of obstruction based on allegations that the defendants attempted to delete surveillance video footage at Mar-a-Lago in late June 2022, following a subpoena for security footage.
Legal experts have questioned Cannon’s fitness since she was assigned to oversee the classified documents case, and have often issued positive judgments.
Trump’s appointee has slowed down the FBI’s investigation with rulings in favor of the former president, including appointing a “special director” to review files seized at Mar-a-Lago. This ruling was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Cannon was benched by Trump after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
Read more
About Judge Eileen Cannon
