In a three-page order handed down on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rules that Donald Trump cannot escape prosecution with his claim that the Presidential Records Act turned sensitive government documents into his own personal property after departing the White House at the end of his term.
In her decision, made days after special counsel Jack Smith stated in a filing that Cannon's hypothetical jury instructions in the former president's classified documents case were based on a "fundamentally flawed legal premise,” asking the Trump-appointee to "promptly" decide whether the "unstated legal premise" undergirding her order represents the court's view of a "correct formulation of the law," she declined his demand to reveal her legal thinking on the matter quickly, writing, "to the extent the Special Counsel demands an anticipatory finalization of jury instructions prior to trial, prior to a charge conference, and prior to the presentation of trial defenses and evidence, the Court declines that demand as unprecedented and unjust.”
JUST IN: Judge CANNON has rejected Trump's effort to dismiss his Florida charges based on the Presidential Records Act -- but also declined Jack Smith's demand that she reveal her legal thinking on the matter quickly, a demand she called "unjust." https://t.co/uQw1QLRDL8 pic.twitter.com/QxyiFBM6VC
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) April 4, 2024
In a post to Truth Social this morning, Trump railed against Smith in this matter while sticking up for Cannon, writing, "Deranged 'Special' Counsel Jack Smith, who has a long record of failure as a prosecutor, including a unanimous decision against him in the U.S. Supreme Court, should be sanctioned or censured for the way he is attacking a highly respected Judge, Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over his FAKE Documents Hoax case in Florida. He is a lowlife who is nasty, rude, and condescending, and obviously trying to 'play the ref.' He shouldn’t even be allowed to participate in this sham case, where I, unlike Crooked Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and all the rest, come under the Presidential Records Act. I DID NOTHING WRONG, BUT BIDEN DID, AND THEY LET HIM OFF SCOT-FREE. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN, JACK? A TWO TIERED SYSTEM OF JUSTICE. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!"
