It has been noted that a federal judge overseeing the criminal case that accuses former President Donald Trump of mishandling classified documents has signaled an openness to the former U.S. president’s defense claims, in a sign that prosecutors might face a difficult road ahead via Reuters.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, has asked Trump and prosecutors to propose jury instructions based on two legal scenarios that favor a claim from Trump that national security lawyers said have little relevance to the charges. Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith brought the case, face a Tuesday deadline to respond to the judge’s order.
It has come to light that the dispute is another instance of Cannon lending credence to Trump’s legal arguments about highly sensitive records taken to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when he left the White House in 2021.
While Trump has clashed with judges in many of his legal cases, Cannon has been receptive to his defense in ways that could alter the course of the documents case.
“You have a court who is more favorable to the views of one party versus the other, and you’re seeing orders and decisions that are reflective of that,” said Brandon Van Grack, a former Justice Department national security official.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of knowingly retaining secret records related to the U.S. national defense and obstructing efforts by the U.S. government to retrieve them.
