Trump-appointed judge to oversee initial Florida court appearance

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, a nominee of Donald Trump who was widely criticized for ruling in the former president’s favor during an earlier phase of the classified documents case, is expected to oversee his criminal indictment — at least at first.

Cannon is reportedly set to preside over Trump’s first appearance Tuesday in Federal District Court in Miami, the latest twist in a legal battle of historic magnitude.

It remains unclear at this stage, however, if Cannon will ultimately preside over the entire case.

Two people close to Trump, who were granted anonymity to speak freely, did not dispute that Cannon is expected to initially oversee the case, although it is unclear for how long.

Trump was indicted Thursday in connection with his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, a case stemming from his alleged retention of sensitive national security documents at his residence in Florida and, further, alleged efforts to impede authorities’ attempts to retrieve them.

While Trump scored a possible win with Cannon, on Friday he also suffered a loss when two members of his legal team, John Rowley and Jim Trusty, left. The exact charges against the former president are not yet public.

Trump’s team leaked on Friday that Cannon is slated to preside over the initial stage of the massive case, something that could be a vital assignment for them.

Cannon already has a history with the classified documents investigation. After the FBI seized classified documents from Mar-a-Lago last August, Trump made an unusual request for a court-appointed special master to review the material taken in the raid. Trump’s request was assigned to Cannon, who sided with him and appointed a special master before she was eventually overturned on appeal.

Some legal experts publicly bashed Cannon for that ruling, claiming that she was overly deferential to Trump’s legal team and was generally inexperienced. Trump’s former attorney general Bill Barr even told Fox News that the ruling “was wrong” and “deeply flawed in a number of ways.”

Trump appointed Cannon to the federal bench in 2020. Before becoming a judge, Cannon was a federal prosecutor in Florida.