Jack Smith Could Seek to Remove Aileen Cannon for Granting Trump's Request

There is speculation over whether prosecutors in Donald Trump's classified documents case will attempt to have presiding Judge Aileen Cannon removed from the trial after she granted the defense access to certain unredacted classified papers.

Trump's team filed a discovery asking to see a number of classified documents related to the case in their entirety which was opposed by Special Counsel Jack Smith on the grounds it could impede ongoing investigations.

On Tuesday, Cannon ruled in favor of Trump, stating the filing from the special counsel "fails to identify the information at issue, provide any explanation about the nature of the investigation, or explain how disclosure of the code name would prejudice or jeopardize the integrity of the separate investigation (assuming it remains ongoing)."

Cannon, a Republican, was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Trump and assumed office in November 2020. She had already sparked anger, and talk of removal, by delaying the case's pre-trial schedule in a move that could significantly slow down the case.

Speaking to Newsweek before Cannon gave her ruling, Ted Spaulding, an Atlanta-based trial attorney and founder of Spaulding Injury Law, said granting Trump's request could spark a move against the judge but added it was unlikely to be successful.

He said: "Certainly, it could lead to a motion by the prosecution to have the judge removed from the case since it appears the prosecution has already hinted at such a potential filing.

"In my opinion, it would be surprising if the judge is actually removed based on a delay-of-case argument. Usually, judges are only removed for conflicts of interest or other egregious behaviors in the case. Most state's procedural rules build in quite a bit of discretion in how the sitting judge handles discovery and deadlines in a case."

Newsweek reached out to Special Counsel Jack Smith, via the Department of Justice, and Judge Aileen Cannon using email and voicemail messages outside of usual working hours. This article will be updated if either wishes to comment.

Before the decision was announced, Lawfare senior editor Roger Parloff suggested a ruling in Trump's favor could spark an interlocutory appeal from prosecutors, based on the perception that Cannon has been too favorable to the defense.

On X, formerly Twitter, Parloff referenced section four of the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) which allows "the United States to delete specified items of classified information from documents to be made available to the defendant through discovery" or to "substitute a summary of the information for such classified documents."

Posting on Monday, before Cannon's ruling, he said it would be "highly controversial" for her to grant the defense's request over document access and that if she did so it could trigger an interlocutory appeal from prosecutors.

Trump is facing 40 federal charges over allegations he retained classified papers after leaving the White House in January 2021 and then obstructed efforts by the relevant authorities to have them returned.

In August 2022, Trump's Mar-a-Lago private members club was raided by federal agents who recovered several classified papers. Trump has pled not guilty to all charges and strongly denies any wrongdoing.