If there’s one thing I tried to learn long ago, it’s to not let my first impressions get away from me. That can lead to anything from a belated apology and a heaping helping of crow to a swift left to the mush. Thank God I did that this time.
Right now everybody is up in arms over the possibility/probability of Trump appointee traffic court judge Aileen Cannon handling the Trump documents case. And for good reason. Several months ago Cannon made a national laughingstock of herself by making FUX News rulings on Earth One in Trump’s request for a special master. Cannon was a Trump appointee, and she took a ton of abuse in going to the mattresses for him.
But let’s look at a little fair, impartial background here. It’s not like Aileen Cannon was Neil Gorsuch or anything. Cannon was one of the last Trump appointees, cleared through in the final weeks of the Trump presidency, when if it had an R after its name, McConnell rammed them through. Cannon was a pathetically inexperienced jurist to start with, and hasn’t seasoned much since. But she clearly owed Traitor Tot a debt of gratitude, and tried to pay it off.
Now let’s flip the page for a moment. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that El Pendejo Presidente has a real problem with authority, especially when it comes to judges. Trump had yet to even appear before the Manhattan district judge that is handling the Stormy Daniels case before he took to Bullsh*t Social to angrily declare a fatwa on the judge, his wife, and his family. Trump mercilessly slandered the American born Mexican heritage judge who ran his Trump U case. He did the same thing to the judge in News York who handled the civil case into his con job charitable foundation.
For some reason The Mango Messiah seems to think that his bluster and bullsh*t are going to intimidate state and federal judges. Conveniently forgetting the fact that judges face very real threats every day from real hard asses like drug dealers and gang leaders. Trump they laugh off.
Now, back to the main event. I noticed at the time of the Special Master debacle that trump was strangely quiet about judge Cannon’s rulings. This had to be disappointing to judge Cannon, who was taking a real puppy whupping without even getting the praise from her master. I realized later that this was for a good reason.
Trump had learned a hard lesson. After clearing three SCOTUS justices, The
Cheeto Prophet proudly started referring to it as his Supreme Court. Every time he lost a ruling in court, he predicted that his Supreme Court would fix it. And got stomped when his cases appeared before the court. Trump started hedging his bets.
There are a few different ways that this can go from here, but they all lead to the same place. Donald Trump. Cannon can walk into court on Tuesday, handle the simple arraignment, and then recuse herself for whatever reason, and hand the case off to another judge for trial. Who knows? Maybe the chief judge sat her down and reminded her that her oath is to the law, and not to Donald Trump, and she’ll be an honest broker, especially considering that there’s nothing Trump can do to her except call her nasty names. And maybe she decides to take the case and make another tilt at the windmill.
We’ll say she keeps the case. As dumb as she is, even Cannon must have learned that if you’re going to play favorites, you have to learn a little finesse and discretion in your rulings. She is going to have to rule against Trump at least some of the time, otherwise it’s like watching an umpire call a strike on a pitch over the batters head. It just gets obvious.
And that will be the kiss-of-death with Trump. It doesn’t matter that the ruling won’t adversely affect Trump’s defense, Trump demands total loyalty and compliance. And Trump has absolutely no impulse control whatsoever. There are going to be a sh*tload of pre-trial motions filed by Trump’s dumpster diver defense team, and thanks to mammoth incompetence, as well as Trump’s personal interference, a lot of them are going to so legally pointless that Cannon has no choice but to deny them if she wants to keep her law license.
Which makes no nevermind to Trump, for two reasons. First, His Lowness is never wrong, which means that his defense is never wrong, which means that the judge is an ignorant moron for daring to rule against him. But there is a second, stronger reason why Traitor Tot is going to lose all self control and go berserk.
As I’ve written before, Trump is by nature a paranoid personality. And I think that even Trump’s lawyers were stunned by the incredible amount of incriminatory detail contained in the indictment. Don’t forget, at heart this is a simple documents case. And documents don’t. lie. Trump had the documents. If he wasn’t entitled to them, then it’s basically game over. And who needs FBI photos of classified documents found in the search when you have a plethora of Trump employee photos showing boxes stacked on the stage of an active ballroom, a toilet, and a shower. Even photos of documents spilled on the floor when a box fell over. That is called contemporary evidence, and it’s almost impossible to refute.
Following the unsealing of the indictment, I think Trump’s lawyers have finally managed to ram home to him just how deep the kimchi is. For the first time in his entire sad, misbegotten life, Trump is on the precipice of personal responsibility. I think that his lawyers have finally convinced him as to just how close he is to becoming a convicted federal felon.
Which Trump cannot tolerate. Which means that he will explode every time something doesn’t go his way. He’ll explode on Bullsh*t Social, he’ll explode on FUX News, and he’ll explode in campaign rallies. And his polyester lap poodle, judge Aileen Cannon is going to have her fair share of sh*t dumped on her head. Which begs the simple question. Why put your professional reputation as well as your personal dignity and self respect on the line for a self serving user? This is going to get interesting.
If Judge Cannon wants to remain a federal judge, she’ll play this straight. After the spanking the 11th Circuit gave her about 7-8 months ago, DOJ won’t hesitate to move to have her recused if she sets one foot wrong. My biggest worry is that she won’t do anything obvious, but will find a reason to delay. After all, TFG still doesn’t have his lawyers lined up for this case yet.
She doesn’t have to…For the simple reason that this is a DOCUMENTS case…Full of documents and TRU<P EMPLOYEE photos that she can't exclude from coming in…Add to it the fact that the prosecutiom will play Trump's own 2016 words, dhowing full well he already knew the classification process and rules, and Trump's own words that HE HAD THE RIGHT to possess the documents, and he's toast…
Um, as far as I can tell, there’s not a provision for a judge’s decision to recuse themselves AFTER a proceeding has begun. So, the “if she sets one foot wrong” point is moot. The DOJ can’t agree to her hearing the case and then pulling a “Gotcha! You’re outta here” moment during the trial. *IF* such an incident happens, the DOJ can appeal the case (if, of course, they lose because she did something to throw the case for Trump) but, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of midtrial “do-over” moment regarding recusal. I would think if some evidence comes up that directly affects the judge (but it hadn’t been known or recognized before the judge took on the case), the judge might be able to recuse–probably without prejudice to their career–but that would, of course, lead to a pause until the new judge can be caught up on the case.
I think you misunderstood my point. If she makes a bad ruling regarding what evidence to allow in or out, that can be appealed by DOJ. DOJ cannot make her recuse, nor will they even try. She can make plenty of mischief while staying within the lines, especially delays. Delays alone can derail this case until after the election, rendering it moot, if the rethugs regain the WH.
I hope you’re right. I really do. Still, after getting slapped down so hard and so fast by a hard core appellate court she didn’t learn a damned thing and they up and had to slap her down again! Maybe that did the trick and maybe not. However she’s young and has a lifetime appointment to a high paying gig. Impeachment? It’s been as rare for federal judges as it has been for Presidents. Even if it did happen it would take for freaking ever given the time crunch this case already faces and even then you’d have the problem of rounding up 67 Senators to vote to convict. Hell, we already know Sinema wouldn’t vote to acquit and Joe Manchin is equally butt-hurt and unlikely to do so either. Even in the best case and miracle of miracles both decided to do the right thing that’s still only 51 votes. I just don’t see sixteen Senate GOPers going along with tossing her out. A few maybe but that’s it.
Cannon isn’t smart, but she knows enough to know that. There are two things I fear. Thomas’s buddy Harlan Crow will shell out mega bucks to buy her off if she dismisses the case outright and then resigns at some point not too far down the road. Long enough to set her and her loved ones up in serious comfort in a non-extradition country or one where even with an extradition treaty the right people can be bought off. The other? In a way it’s worse. A summary dismissal could be appealed (or so I’m told) although success is a dicey proposition. However, what I KNOW she’s being encouraged to do is handle the arraignment, and then rule that given all the pretrial motions sure to come in this “Incredibly, most complicated case ever in the history of cases. People say there’s been NOTHING in history, even rocket science and brain surgery that’s ever been so complex” and set a trial date (which would be within her power at the arraignment) say 18 months from now. Which would “like TOTALLY by coincidence be within that window when DOJ “goes dark” on doing things related to candidates for federal office! Meaning no trial until after the election. She could get away with that. I think after getting slapped down the first time and inviting anther round of whuppin from the appellate court she has no f**ks to give. But she could keep her high paying, minimal work/stress (after the dust settles) gig which will pay her far more than she’d have ever earned as a lawyer.
Or she could just let the trial play through and let dotard off with a slap on the wrist in sentencing! 😡
Nope…This will be a jury trial…And if Traitor Tot is convicted, then Cannon will have no choice but to adhere to the federal sentencing guidelines when she pronounces her sentence…
Former Federal Prosecutor and current criminal defense lawyer Ken White claims numerous ways Cannon could let Trump off the hook…….
“ Most drastically, she can do things that can’t be repaired. Once a jury is impaneled, she can dismiss the case. And there’s not a goddamn thing anyone can do about it. Double Jeopardy attaches; you’re done. She can grant a motion for directed verdict of acquittal after the government’s case. And then we’re done. You can’t be retried, can’t be reviewed. It’s over.”
…..things aren’t as cut and dried as some are claiming. Cannon would not be the first MAGAt to throw away her career, reputation and possibly freedom to protect Trump. MAGA is a cult, and it’s wild eyed followers will do anything for their Orange Savior.
Here is the article naming more ways that Trump could get off with Cannon as the trial judge……
https://www.yahoo.com/news/think-theyve-got-trump-where-221112415.html
No…There could be a pretrial motion by the defense to throw the case out, but if she did that, she’d risk another smackdown from the 11th Circuit…Once the case has a jury, at the end of the prosecutions case the defense could move to dismiss, but with all of the evidence already presented, it would basically be impossible for her to grant that motion…
Can judges actually lose their attorney licenses? Ones like this one have lifetime appointments, can choose whether or not to recuse, and despite the threat of being spanked by the 11th Circuit, can rule in any way they see fit since it can and will be appealed regardless of how she rules. She can rule every time in former guy’s favor and there is little anyone can do until the trial is over and it goes on to the 11th. And then what can the 11th do? They either rule for or against everything she does but they really cannot do anything to her personally outside of heaping embarrassment upon her which I don’t think has much of an adverse impact on her.
I do not think much can or will happen to her but her actions can rile up the magats and it doesn’t matter what actions she takes. She rules in former guy’s favor, it goes on to appeal and the magats get pissed and violent and likewise if she rules against they get pissed and violent. The magats live for getting violent-it is they’re raison d’etre. All we can hope for is that this trial and the one that will be in D.C. will expose former guy in a very bad way alienating non-magat republicans and all Independents. Regardless, we’re in for violent times I think.
BTW, it is THEIR, not THEY’re. Sorry for being an illiterate rube.
Almost anything COULD happen. What WILL happen is not really predictable. I will say any theory wich depends on any Republican behaving rationally is highlyunlikely.
Other than that – Cannon’s photo really gives me the heebie-jeebies. Her features are not unatractive, but that expression is straight out of Screwtape. Pure evil is shooting out of those eyes.
This case is historical. Not only is it the first time in the nation’s history that an ex-prez has been indicted, the criminal charges underpinning the case are extremely serious and sensitive.
I think the Chief Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Cecilia Altonaga, will either take the case herself or appoint a senior judge to take it on. Handing a case of this magnitude to an inexperienced, incompetent judge-in-name-only would be a monumental embarrassment to the entirety of the Judicial Branch.
I’m waiting for some assiduous investigative journalist to break a story of how Cannon’s appointment to this case was bought. Once may have been chance. Twice?