On Wednesday, former White House lawyer Ty Cobb made the prediction that Judge Aileen Cannon may be removed from the case pertaining to former President Trump’s improper handling of sensitive information at his Florida residence by the 11th Circuit Court.
The former Trump administration official cited special counsel Jack Smith’s most recent submission in an interview with CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” saying he believed it made it clear that Smith may take the issue to the 11th Circuit if Cannon did not rule quickly.
“I think that Jack Smith– I think the filing today makes it plain that she has to rule, and if she doesn’t rule under either scenario, they’ll be in a position to take her up to the 11th Circuit. And I think the 11th Circuit will likely take her off the case,” Cobb stated.
In the Trump document case, Cannon recently gave the sides directions to suggest jury instructions that would primarily consider Trump’s interpretation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), the legislation that governs the handling and eventual preservation of records made during a president’s tenure.
Despite not taking into account Trump’s prior request to dismiss the case on those grounds, Cannon issued the directions.
Smith chastised Cannon for accepting Trump’s “fundamentally flawed legal premise” that the sensitive information found in his Florida home were somehow his personal property in an unusually straightforward filing. He urged Cannon to make a decision on the situation right now.
Cobb pointed out that the case has been handled so slowly under Cannon that the 11th Circuit has previously chastised Cannon for it.
He called Cannon’s delays “extraordinary” and said it was “remarkable” that he still hadn’t scheduled a trial.
Rejecting the notion that Cannon’s alleged errors were the result of inexperience or incapacity, Cobb stated, “the evidence of her bias is pretty palpable at this stage of the game.”
“I think the evidence is just too overwhelming,” he further continued. “I mean, yes, she may be incompetent, but at this stage of the game, her incompetence is so gross that I think it clearly creates the perception of partiality, and her attempt to put her thumb on the scale. So, I think that should disqualify her.”
