'Squarely on Trump’s side': Legal expert highlights Judge Cannon’s unreasonable handling of DOJ probe

A new analysis is highlighting how one court mishap explains the legal absurdity in District Court Judge Aileen Cannon's handling of the U.S. Department of Justice's investigation into former President Donald Trump.

In a new piece published by The Daily Beast, Jose Pagliery began with an overview of Cannon's handling of the case before highlighting her latest blunder.

"First, she stopped FBI special agents from even glancing at the classified documents they recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Then she appointed a special court referee that former President Donald Trump wanted to slow down the investigation over his mishandling of classified documents."

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He added, "But now, it’s clear District Court Judge Aileen Cannon already knew the Department of Justice was ready to hand Trump back a ton of personal records six days before she claimed the former president was suffering 'a real harm' by being 'deprived of potentially significant personal documents.'”

Pagliery pointed to the letter written on August 30. "The Aug. 30 letter to the judge, which is marked 'sealed,' lays out the abundantly cautious way the DOJ treated its raid on Mar-a-Lago earlier that month," he wrote. "The FBI had a 'privilege review team' of agents and lawyers conduct an initial sweep and sort through evidence to put aside anything that could taint an eventual prosecution of the former president—such as confidential letters between him and any of his 35 different lawyers."

He added, "In the letter, a DOJ lawyer representing that 'taint team' explained that three weeks after the seizure of goods at the oceanside Florida estate, the team was ready to return 43 items that had nothing to do with the investigation: legal documents ranging from his confidential settlement with the Professional Golfers’ Association to invoices from his attorney Alina Habba."

"The revelation makes even more obvious how far Cannon went to appease the president who gave her a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. And it’s only adding to what’s become a resounding consensus from legal scholars that Cannon is squarely on Trump’s side."

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Pagliery also included the perspective of a New York University legal scholar who also believes Cannon's actions are simply a means of giving Trump the delays his legal team wants.

“She's just giving him the delay that he’s asked for,” said Peter M. Shane of the New York University law school. “She has obvious sympathy for Trump’s contention that, as a former president, he deserves super-consideration.”

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