Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who charged former President Donald Trump with alleged mishandling of classified documents, might try to get Judge Aileen Cannon removed from the case.
According to NBC News, prosecutors and defense attorneys say Smith might try to get Cannon removed after his office said the judge's rulings could irrevocably taint a trial. The prosecutor argues that the judge is giving weight to the defense's argument that Trump could preserve classified documents after leaving office, a claim that is at the heart of the case against him.
According to the report, Smith questioned Cannon for allegedly taking at face value Trump's "fundamentally flawed" claim about his right to possess official and personal records when the judge asked the prosecution and defense to present their versions of the instructions for jurors in the case.
According to Smith, this request would "distort" the trial against the prosecutor's office. Therefore, the prosecutor threatened to appeal which could remove the judge from the case.
"He is close to pushing the nuclear button," Palm Beach County State's Attorney David Aronberg told NBC News. "It is a high burden to reach, and it is rarely done, but her proposed jury instructions may have pushed him to the breaking point."
As a result of the new conflict between the prosecutor's office and the judge, former President Trump took to Truth Social and demanded Smith be sanctioned.
"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," Trump said in his post.
"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," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Judge Cannon has not surrendered to Smith's threats, arguing that her request for jury instructions is completely honest and does not seek to damage the prosecution's case.
According to the report, the judge responded Thursday by saying her request is "a genuine attempt … to better understand the parties’ competing positions and the questions to be submitted to the jury in this complex case of first impression."
She stated, "Any party remains free to avail itself of whatever appellate options it sees fit to invoke, as permitted by law.”
Aronberg said this decision could make Smith appeal and try to have the judge removed.
