Trump Lawyers Demand Trump-Appointed Judge Take ‘Action’ Against Jack Smith For ‘Intentionally’ Derailing Presidential Campaign

Attorneys for ex-President Donald Trump asked Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon to take “appropriate action” against Special Counsel Jack Smith, claiming he’s “intentionally” trying to prevent Trump from campaigning.

Cannon — a Trump appointee — was selected at random to preside over the trial on 37 counts against ex-President Donald Trump related to Espionage Act violations and was also behind a controversial ruling that was overturned by an appeals court in a blistering decision by a panel that included two other Trump-appointed judges.

While Cannon’s rulings have not been uniformly favorable to Trump, some of her behavior has raised questions.

In an order denying Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to seal certain evidence in the classified documents case, Judge Cannon also ordered Smith to “address the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district.”

This week, Trump’s attorneys looked to Cannon for more help against Smith’s case in DC in a filing that concludes with attorney Chris Kise  asking her to take “appropriate action”:

In its brief in the D.C. Case, the Special Counsel’s Office argues that a December jury selection and January 2, 2024 trial date before Judge Chutkan is appropriate, with full knowledge of the schedules of both President Trump and his attorneys between now and the end of that year, not the least of which includes preparing for the May 2024 trial before Your Honor. President Trump opposes a January 2024 trial date in the D.C. Case for many of the same reasons articulated in President Trump’s July 10, 2023, brief to Your Honor in which we responded to the government’s revised scheduling order. (See generally ECF No. 66). As the Special Counsel is aware, there are a multitude of complicated practical issues surrounding President Trump’s schedule, including a six-week trial beginning in October 2023 in New York in a matter brought by the New York Attorney General against President Trump and his companies, as well as an ongoing contested primary for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. This is in addition to preparation for a March 25, 2024, criminal trial brought against President Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. A Special Counsel committed to the fair administration of Justice should never have circumvented this Court’s orders under any circumstance, much less with full knowledge of the various issues presented with these multiple indictments against the leading Republican candidate for President of the United States.

Respectfully, the Special Counsel’s conduct necessitates appropriate action by Your Honor. In addition to blatantly ignoring this Court’s scheduled evidentiary hearing on December 11, 2023, the Special Counsel’s actions appear to be intentionally motivated to prevent President Trump from meaningfully preparing for either trial and to simultaneously prevent him from running a campaign for President of the United States. We are separately seeking appropriate relief from Judge Chutkan, as noted in Exhibit 2, and we respectfully request Your Honor order the Special Counsel to explain its reasoning for arguing for a pretrial and trial schedule in the D.C. Case that conflicts directly with this Court’s current trial schedule.

Respectfully submitted, Christopher M. Kise

The judge issued an unrelated order on Friday.