Aileen Cannon's latest Jack Smith filing torn apart by legal analysts (2024)

The latest order from the federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's classified documents case has been criticized by legal experts.

In an order dated May 19, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, "granted in part and denied in part" two motions related to sealing and redacting defense filings.

Cannon wrote in the order that she was "disappointed" in special counsel Jack Smith's approach to unsealing filings, contending that he has objected to unsealing material to protect grand jury secrecy and witness safety in some cases, but he relinquished those concerns at other times. She wrote that Smith's position on unsealing material was to "publicly and transparently refute defense allegations of prosecutorial misconduct."

Trump is facing dozens of felony counts related to allegations that he illegally hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving the White House in 2021 and obstructed the government's efforts to retrieve them. He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Cannon's latest order has prompted criticism from legal analysts, such as former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance and legal commentator Allison Gill, who called the order "ridiculous." Smith's office declined to comment.

Cannon previously canceled the trial's May 20 start date and postponed it indefinitely, saying it would be "imprudent" to finalize a new trial date because of unresolved motions in the case. Trump, who is fighting four criminal prosecutions while seeking to win back the White House, is on trial in Manhattan after pleading not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential race. He denies any wrongdoing.

"I was surprised that Judge Cannon expressed disappointment at Smith's argument to keep witness and other information sealed," Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of the West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm, told Newsweek.

"It wasn't necessary to her ruling and she could have pointed out the purported double standard by simply saying that the Special Counsel's position is inconsistent with their other filings. This will just perpetuate the perception that she is biased in favor of Trump, and all further fuel to the political fire."

Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama who was nominated by President Barack Obama, wrote in her blog, Civil Discourse, that "Cannon is critical of prosecutors, yet again, on the flimsy basis that they sought to walk the fine line between protecting witnesses and permitting Trump to lie to the public about the prosecution being a political witch hunt while the Judge kept her thumb on the scales for Trump."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Vance added that Cannon "has repeatedly criticized, federal prosecutors, while giving Trump's lawyers a pass for things like misleading the court about a conflict in dates with another court, despite moving to reschedule the date in the other court."

Gill, who posts on X under the account for the Mueller, She Wrote podcast, wrote on the platform: "Judge Cannon approved Jack Smith's redactions but is 'very disappointed' in him for asking for them. She also DENIED Trump's proposed redactions but is granting him a merits hearing on them in another motion."

Bradley P. Moss, a national security attorney, wrote that Cannon's comments were "unnecessary" but "within her discretion."

"Again, Cannon engages in unnecessary editorializing but within her discretion," Moss wrote on X. "On the merits, she largely rejected Trump's proposed redactions as lacking any basis. We'll finally see the two remaining pre-trial motions that have been sitting for months without resolution by Cannon."

Attorney Andrew Weissmann, commenting on the order, wrote on X, "Judge Cannon is so partisan that she could end up on the Supreme Court along with an inverted-flag-flying Justice," referring to recent reports that Justice Samuel Alito hung the U.S. flag upside down outside his home on January 17, 2021.

Update 5/21/24, 4:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Neama Rahmani.