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The Florida judge who just gave Trump a pass in documents case will now be judged herself

Published

2 years ago

July 16, 2024

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The Florida judge who just gave Trump a pass in documents case will now be judged herself

What if I told you Judge Aileen Cannon has been working for years to get this case thrown out?

It would be easy to get angry at this point about how law and order is alleged to apply to everyone in America, but former President Donald Trump keeps being issued get-out-of-jail-free cards by judges he appointed.

It happened again Monday when the judge overseeing Trump’s federal case for allegedly taking and concealing classified documents after leaving office decided to rule counter to decades of established law and precedence to just toss the case out of court.

That’s frustrating to fair-minded people, no matter what political party you belong to. We’re told as children that nobody is above the law in America and we hope as adults to see that hold true.

But this would be a good time to press pause on our frustration because U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, nominated in April 2020 by Trump for the Southern District of Florida, is likely to face some judgment about her judgment.

We’ve been here before. It didn’t go so well for Cannon.

Judge Aileen Cannon did her part in the Trump document case

Cannon’s ruling has nothing to do with the merits of the case. Instead, she grabbed hold of a fringe legal argument that Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed in November 2022 by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigation, was improperly selected.

Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged last summer. His entire legal strategy since then has been to delay delay delay while painting the prosecution as a political vendetta as he seeks another term as president.

In this, Cannon has always seemed more like an eager collaborator than an impartial judge, dragging out the process and leaving legal motions in limbo while sparring with prosecutors. All the while, the clock is ticking down to the Nov. 5 general election. A Trump victory would make the case simply vanish.

Decision to throw out document case started years ago

One of Trump’s opening gambits in the case in 2022, months before charges were filed, was to ask Cannon to prevent prosecutors from examining the thousands of documents it found – some marked confidential or top secret – in boxes strewn across the ex-president’s private club in Florida while executing a search warrant.

Cannon played along, shutting down the prosecutors and appointing a “special master” to sift through the documents.

Smith appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, known for a certain right-leaning tilt on the political scale, where the case was heard by three judges, including two appointed by Trump.

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Those judges, in December 2022, reversed Cannon in a 21-page ruling that ended with what amounted to a scolding for her for what amounted to an attempt at a “radical reordering” to limit how federal judges act in criminal investigations.

“The law is clear,” they wrote. “We cannot write a rule that allows any subject of a search warrant to block government investigations after the execution of the warrant. Nor can we write a rule that allows only former presidents to do so.”

Let’s not forget the Supreme Court’s role in all this

That’s the way the law is supposed to work. Everyone is equal. Unless, of course, the U.S. Supreme Court decides otherwise.

The other recent development that has law-and-order fans freaking out was the Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling that Trump has immunity for any “official acts” he took as president while attempting to overturn the 2020 election but can still be tried in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C., for any “unofficial acts” he took in that attempt.

Justice Clarence Thomas joined the court’s other six conservatives, three appointed by Trump, in that 6-3 ruling but couldn’t resist helping Trump on a legal point that was not part of the case – writing a concurring opinion that questioned whether Smith’s appointment as special counsel was legal.

Thomas opened the door for Cannon to toss the documents charges against Trump. And that’s just what she did.

Trump legal cases still out there to be dismissed

Cannon tucked her ruling Monday into a news cycle already ramped up to full bore, between the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday and his selection of a vice presidential running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday evening.

Trump, who briefly called for unity after surviving Saturday, was right back at his usual rhetoric Monday, casting his legal troubles as “Political Attacks” while celebrating Cannon’s ruling on his social media site, calling for dismissal “of ALL the Witch Hunts.”

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That included the case pending in Washington, a pending criminal case in Georgia on attempts to overturn the 2020 election there, the civil case where he was found liable for sexual assault, the criminal case in New York where he was convicted on 34 felony counts, and a civil case where he was fined $454 million for running a real estate business rife with fraud.

So many cases. And only one Judge Cannon.

Possible new member of SCOTUS?

Trump sees all politics as transactional – if he does something for you, he will expect something from you. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and avid social media troll, said the quiet part out loud Monday in a post on the site previously known as Twitter with Cannon’s official portrait, calling her “Future Supreme Court Justice Cannon.”

Speaking of the Supreme Court, the justices took a pass in October 2022 when Trump asked them to overturn the 11th Circuit, which had just overturned Cannon.

If the special counsel successfully appeals the new Cannon ruling and revives the documents case, Trump will certainly try his luck again with our highest court.

Then we’ll find out just how many get-out-of-jail-free cards the conservative justices are willing to deal him.

Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan

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News

Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

A minor earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.5 struck in Central California on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 7:17 a.m. Pacific time about 6 miles northwest of Pinnacles, Calif., data from the agency shows.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Monday, March 2 at 10:20 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Monday, March 2 at 11:18 a.m. Eastern.

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US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

The U.S. and Israel have been conducting strikes against targets in Iran since Saturday morning, with the aim of toppling Tehran’s clerical regime. Iran has fired back, with retaliatory assaults featuring missiles and drones targeting several Gulf countries and American bases in the Middle East.

“All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” Central Command said.

“The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” it added.

In a separate statement later Monday, Central Command said that American forces had been killed during combat since the strikes began.

“As of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” it said.

Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” Central Command added.

This story has been updated.

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Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Published

16 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

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Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

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Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

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Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

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And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

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Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

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