Judge Aileen Cannon to entertain Trump’s claim the special counsel is unlawful in Friday hearing
CNN
One day after it was reported that two federal judges urged her not to take the classified documents case against Donald Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon will begin three days of hearings that could determine the future of the charges against the former president.
One day after it was reported that two federal judges urged her not to take the classified documents case against Donald Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon will begin three days of hearings that could determine the future of the charges against the former president. Trump is arguing that Jack Smith – who has brought charges against Trump in Florida and Washington, DC – was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. At the center of Trump’s argument is the claim that the Attorney General Merrick Garland does not have legal authority to appoint someone as special counsel who hasn’t confirmed by the Senate. The Justice Department says the attorney general has ample authority to appoint “inferior officers,” which would include special counsels. Trump’s attempt to nullify the special counsel’s office’s work is an anomaly among recent efforts from other defendants in different federal courts to do the same, because Cannon is giving far more time to weigh the challenge than other judges have in recent years. The judge will allow for several hours of questioning about the authority of the special counsel’s office, which is at work in federal court cases around the country, as Republican-led attacks of the Justice Department’s special counsel appointments gain steam on Capitol Hill and in legal circles. The hearing in the Fort Pierce courtroom where Cannon presides is just the start of a three-day excursion into legal arguments around the case, including over prosecutors’ request for a gag order against Trump as well as an argument that the special counsel is being unlawfully funded.
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