'Pure luck': Trump likely to skate on federal cases in 2024 thanks to his appointed judges

Former President Donald Trump is almost certainly going to avoid going to trial in either of the two federal cases against him this year, all thanks to his own appointees to the judiciary.

In his latest article, Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney delved into Trump's run of good luck concerning Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's two criminal indictments: At the core of the relative lack of criminal accountability for Trump in the federal court system is a handful of the ex-president's hand-picked judges.

After the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted him broad criminal immunity for "official acts" in a 6-3 decision — in which all three of the SCOTUS justices he put on the bench ruled in the former president's favor — Trump's D.C. election interference hit another major roadblock. And Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon overseeing his classified documents case may have been the biggest stroke of luck for the former president, according to a legal expert.

READ MORE: Experts reveal how Jack Smith's Trump indictment can survive Judge Cannon's 'bonkers' ruling

"Talk about pure luck," University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth political science professor Kenneth Manning told Politico. "They drew an inside straight when they had Aileen Cannon. When the federal prosecutors chose to charge him in Florida instead of D.C."

Earlier this month, Cannon dismissed the classified documents case, arguing that Smith was unconstitutionally appointed as special counsel. She cited Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion in the Trump v. United States case that granted him immunity, in which the conservative jurist argued that the DOJ's special counsel selection process was unlawful.

Smith has officially filed his appeal of Cannon's ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is likely to overturn it given that it has reversed two of Cannon's prior decisions in the classified documents case. Of course, Trump would then be able to appeal that reversal to SCOTUS, which could side with Trump once again. And because the SCOTUS term doesn't begin until this fall and lasts until June of 2025, Smith's appointment as special counsel could be in dispute until this time next year.

Cannon's latest ruling is just the latest example experts have highlighted to suggest the Trump-appointed judge is not acting in an impartial manner. Harvard University law professor emeritus Laurence Tribe said the case's dismissal could be used as justification for Smith to ask the 11th Circuit to assign a new judge to the case.

READ MORE: Jack Smith officially challenges Cannon's dismissal of Trump classified document case

"I think the case for doing so is very strong," Tribe tweeted.

Tim Parlatore — an attorney who has represented Trump in the past — downplayed the significance of Trump-appointed judges ruling in his favor. He told Politico that politics will naturally influence legal decisions due to the political nature of the judicial appointment system.

"The judges appointed by Trump are ruling in his favor. The judges appointed by Democrats are going against him,” Parlatore said. “It does correctly undermine the public’s trust in the system because sometimes judges do things that are political.”

Click here to read Cheney's full report in Politico.

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