‘Embarrassing,’ ‘Baffling,’ ‘Unhinged’: Former Trump White House Lawyer Throws the Thesaurus at Trump-Appointed Judge in Docs Case

Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb fired a barrage of unflattering adjectives at Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over Donald Trump’s federal criminal trial in Florida.

Trump is under indictment for what Special Counsel Jack Smith says was his willful retention of classified documents after leaving office. Smith also alleges the former president deliberately obstructed their retrieval by the government.

Cannon has made several rulings in the case that have been widely regarded as dubious, including one that earned her a sharp rebuke from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Thursday’s edition of OutFront on CNN, Erin Burnett said Cannon has “inexplicably” yet to announce a trial date and noted that this week the judge ordered the prosecutors and defense attorneys to file proposed jury instructions based on two scenarios. One of those hinges on Trump’s interpretation of the Presidential Records Act, which he claims gave him the authority to declare government material his personal property. That theory has been roundly rejected by legal experts and even elicited a rare public statement to the contrary from the National Archives.

“This is a remarkable misunderstanding of the applicable law,” Cobb, who served in Trump’s White House, told Burnett. “It’s embarrassing. She’s been struggling so dramatically in this case ever since the start when… she butchered the special master decision and the 11th Circuit took her to task for it. This is a totally baffling position.”

Cobb dismissed Trump’s claim about the Presidential Records Act, as well as the fact that Cannon is entertaining it.

“The theory that Trump has the ability to designate classified material as personal records is absurd on its face,” he said. “There’s no legal support for that, but she has put Jack Smith in a position of trying to draft jury instructions in advance that would posit that question to the jury. I think that it is such a fundamental error.”

He went on to say that Cannon’s rulings “provide a basis for seeking her recusal,” but that the 11th Circuit would have to agree to grant such a request from Smith.

“A month ago, she ordered the identities of witnesses to be disclosed and Jack Smith pointed out to her that that was just not allowable,” Cobb stated. “It’s really remarkable some of the things that she’s done that are just fundamentally unhinged.”

Burnett pivoted to the trial date, which, at this rate, may not start until after the election. If Trump wins, he would be able to end his federal prosecutions, which also include his trial in Washington D.C. for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

“What do you think is gonna happen here?” the host said. “Is she gonna announce a trial date that’s real at any point?”

“Not that’s real,” Cobb replied. “She will announce a trial date at some point. Any other judge in the country would’ve long ago announced a trial date and then simply moved it. I don’t think she has any intention of letting this case come to trial before the election or before the inauguration… And to her credit, this is not the only case that she has made fundamental errors in.”

He concluded by giving Cannon another backhanded compliment.

“To her credit, she could merely be incompetent.”

Watch above via CNN.