An MSNBC legal analyst seemed bent on creating her own self-fulfilling prophecy Sunday while contending the judge assigned to former President Donald Trump’s indictment recuse herself.
(Video: MSNBC)
Tuesday, the president is scheduled to appear in federal court after being indicted with 37 counts related to his possession of documents marked classified. Now, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the same jurist who was overruled in appointing a special master to review those documents, is having her partiality called into question as a matter of public perception.
Joining MSNBC’s “Velshi,” former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance included a weighty “but” when she noted Cannon “was selected fair and square whether you like that or not.”
While her selection was random out of the available judges, and fellow legal analyst, former U.S. attorney and former judge Carol Lam referred to Cannon’s prior history with Trump a “red-herring,” Vance seemed insistent.
“This is about how the public will view this case. And because of her decisions in the earlier matter where the 11th Circuit didn’t just reverse her, but they said she was out of bounds, that she lacked jurisdiction. They moved extraordinarily quickly to prevent her from allowing Trump to engage in delay. I think that alone might hamper her decision-making,” she argued.
As previously reported, Cannon, a Trump appointee, had granted a request from the president’s legal team to allow for a special master to review the 11,000 documents that had been taken during the unprecedented FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision.
Trump dealt a blow when 11th Court of Appeal halts special master review of seized docshttps://t.co/9iPCQUmbqx
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) December 2, 2022
In an op-ed for MSNBC published earlier Sunday, Vance had referred to Cannon’s effort on that as “extraordinarily favorable treatment,” to which she added, “There are concerns she will do that again, dooming the prosecution.”
“Nothing would serve the interests of justice more poorly than having a judge whose fairness toward Trump has already been seriously called into question handle this case. The standard for recusal in the 11th Circuit is squishy — judges should step aside when a reasonable person would have doubts about their impartiality,” she wrote. “If Judge Cannon does not recuse herself, and permits Trump to engage in meritless delays of the proceedings, it would be a miscarriage of justice.”
The legal analyst continued her push toward recusal on “Velshi” and said, “But the judge who oversees the case has a lot of authority to make subtle decisions that don’t necessarily come to public notice in time to impact the outcome of a case. She could impact the selection of jurors. She will rule on pretrial motions. She would rule on the admissibility of evidence if she was the trial judge. And the reality is, in a case like this, the public won’t have confidence whether she acquits or convicts.”
“Better to pass it on to another judge who doesn’t have that kind of a track record here,” Vance concluded on that point.
Efforts to drum up doubts over the proceeding seemed to land as the leftist echo chamber chimed in to promote the notion that Trump was guilty with no hope of being proven innocent.
I wouldn’t bet on Cannon’s desire to be seen as a serious jurist.
I think she cares more about being excommunicated from her far right community— Harlow (@AngryInAGoodWay) June 12, 2023
Doesn’t the judge ultimately determine the sentences? Couldn’t he be convicted, she just fines him and he walks free?
— Eric Bloom (@ericdbloom) June 11, 2023
I don’t have confidence in any judge in Florida that’s a Republican given the climate there.
— GreyGhostMN (@GreyGhostMN) June 11, 2023
I’m afraid she’s going to dismiss the whole thing!
— Pattie (@mybajadogs14) June 11, 2023
Clearly the right thing would be for her to recuse.
— Jeff Furman (@PMAnswerBook) June 11, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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