Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon handed prosecutors in his Mar-a-Lago case a shocking ultimatum on Monday.

The MAGA-friendly federal judge who keeps siding with Donald Trump in his Mar-a-Lago classified records case has forced prosecutors to make a stark choice: allow jurors to see a huge trove of national secrets or let him go.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’sultimatum Monday night came as a surprise twist in what could have been a simple order; one merely asking federal prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers for proposed jury instructions at the upcoming trial.

But as she has done repeatedly, Cannon used this otherwise innocuous legal step as yet another way to swing the case wildly in favor of the man who appointed her while he was president.

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith must now choose whether to allow jurors at the upcoming criminal trial to peruse the many classified records found at the former president’s South Florida mansion or give jurors instructions that would effectively order them to acquit him.

  • ShadowRam@fedia.io
    73·
    8 months ago

    Why the fuck would Juror’s need to see the files?

    The content within them is irrelevant to the case, other than to determine whether if they are/were Top Secret or not, and Juror’s aren’t able to make that distinction.

    You need an expert/qualified person to deem whether the content was top secret.

    Then the juror’s decide on the case whether they should have been there or not.

    • NounsAndWords@lemmy.world
      35·
      8 months ago

      Why the fuck would Juror’s need to see the files?

      Well it sounds like it could create another lengthy appeal before trial, so that might be the entire reason…