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CNN
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Federal Judge Eileen Cannon made headlines last summer when she oversaw court proceedings related to the FBI’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Now, a federal judge appointed by President Trump was initially assigned to oversee a new federal criminal case filed by the former president in Miami, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
If Mr. Cannon remains in the case, he will have wide discretion to control the timing and evidence of the case, allowing him to scrutinize the Justice Department’s legal theories.
President Trump faces a total of 37 indictments in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into allegations of mishandling classified documents, according to an indictment released Friday, which charges the former president with federal crimes. It is a surprising development that will be the first time to be done.
Trump is scheduled to appear in Miami federal court on Tuesday to read out the charges against him. This is expected to take place before Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the Mar-a-Lago search warrant in August.
Among the charges facing Trump include 31 counts of willful retention of defense information. In addition, the former presidents have each been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. Withhold documents or records. Unauthorized concealment of documents or records. Conceal documents in federal investigations. plan to cover up. False Statements and Representations.
ABC News was the first to report judicial assignments in criminal cases.
Trump nominated Cannon to the seat in May 2020, and the Senate confirmed Cannon in a 56-21 vote just days after the presidential election.
Cannon stayed largely out of national attention until last year when she began handling a lawsuit filed by a former president to challenge Mar-a-Lago evidence gathering. Her controversial decision to appoint a third-party “special chief” to oversee the review of evidence gathered in the search was criticized by the Court of Appeals for the 11th Federal Circuit, which had criticized Cannon’s handling of the case. was eventually overturned by a conservative panel of judges. .
This special master process suspended DOJ investigations into documents obtained during the investigation and allowed outside counsel to review the materials for privilege issues.
An appeals court said last year, “The law is clear.” “You can’t write a rule that allows the subject of a search warrant to block a government investigation after the warrant is executed. You can’t write a rule that only allows former presidents to do that.”
Prior to taking office, Cannon served as an assistant federal attorney in Florida and served as a major crimes division and appellate attorney, according to a written response filed with the Senate during the approval process.
After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, Mr. Cannon served as a federal judge’s clerk and then as an attorney in an office in Washington, D.C., where he worked, including in connection with “government investigations.” has dealt with various incidents. Submitted to the Senate in 2020.
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