An MSNBC legal analyst warned Judge Aileen Cannon to stay in her “lane” as she is expected to continue a hearing next week arguing that the special counsel in Trump’s confidential documents case was illegally appointed.
“Girl, stay in your lane,” Melissa Murray, an MSNBC legal analyst and New York University law professor, said in comments directed at Cannon during Friday’s edition of “All In with Chris Hayes” in featured comments per Mediaitis.
Cannon heard the first day of arguments on Friday, as Trump’s lawyers once again hope to dismiss, or at least delay, what has been widely seen as the clearest of the former president’s four legal cases.
The Trump team’s argument is that Special Counsel Jack Smith was illegally appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland because his special office and approval were not done by Congress.
In defense, Smith’s team argued that Smith’s appointment fell within Garland’s purview as head of the justice department, noting that a similar argument failed in the Trump administration’s challenge of Robert Mueller’s appointment. Despite resistance from legal precedent, Cannon did not choose to govern immediately.
Judge Cannon, appointed by Trump to the bench, was characterized by some as a partisan supporter of the former president. His willingness to accept this latest statement from Trump’s side raised alarm bells, considering that the special counsel selection process was covered in legal precedents.
“If this were a real issue, it would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, not by a district judge in Fort Pierce, Florida,” concluded Murray.
Cannon has long frustrated prosecutors with concessions made to Trump’s defense. Before Trump’s indictment in June 2023, she responded to Trump’s request in September for an independent special master to review classified documents found in the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago. A federal appeals panel later unanimously overturned her rule.
The New York Times reported Thursday that two judges tried to persuade Cannon to hand over the case when it was randomly assigned to her. They, in part, would have urged her to consider how she would handle the former president’s case.
The hearing is set to continue on Monday, where the two sides will continue to discuss Smith’s nomination as well as a limited gag order on Trump proposed by the prosecution to protect officers involved in the August 2022 search of Mar-a -Lake.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
