Judge Cannon 'resents' having to protect witnesses against Trump: Former prosecutor

Judge Aileen Cannon appears to "resent" having to take steps to protect witnesses against former President Donald Trump from threats in his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance told MSNBC's Joy Reid on Tuesday.

This comes after Cannon, a South Florida judge appointed by Trump himself, agreed to protect the names of certain government witnesses against Trump — after special counsel Jack Smith demanding protection for several witnesses he warned would be vulnerable.

"Aileen Cannon seems to be trying to protect herself from getting this case taken from her by the 11th Circuit," said Reid. "She's ruled for Jack Smith, his request to redact the names of some two dozen government witnesses that Trump wanted to reveal in public versions of one of his big filings. It seems to be a very big deal, but it also seems to be self-protective on her part."

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"You know, every time we find an issue where Judge Cannon rules for Jack Smith, I feel like putting it in air quotes, because here, even though she rules for him, she does it after really criticizing him for behavior that's just not objectionable by a prosecutor," said Vance. "She seems to have the view that he was dilatory in filing and did it in an irresponsible fashion. The reality is that Smith will still have to justify all of these redactions of the names of witnesses from public view."

The idea that a judge would find this a burden is astonishing, she continued.

"Look, every judge has an obligation to protect the integrity of their courtroom, to protect witnesses and jurors who are engaging in public service when they participate in the criminal justice system," Vance said. "It's just unthinkable that a judge would not be very careful with the safety and security of those people, and yet this judge almost seems to resent having to protect them, simply because it's the special prosecutor that's asking for that."

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