'It always has thorns': Expert shows how Judge Cannon's anti-Trump ruling hurts Jack Smith
Judge Aileen Cannon denied a major dismissal motion in the Espionage Act criminal case Donald Trump faces in Florida, but she still included some barbs for prosecutor Jack Smith, a legal expert highlighted on Saturday.
Cannon earlier in the day rejected a bid by Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta, the former president's valet and his assistant, to dismiss the case for selective and vindictive prosecution. And before that, a local prosecutor put the judge, who has been accused of bias in favor of the ex-president who appointed her to the lifetime position, on notice that she might soon be removed from the case.
MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin weighed in over the weekend, saying that Cannon is always looking for a way to jab prosecutors in Trump's case, even when she's handing a co-defendant a loss.
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"But even when Judge Cannon hands the Special Counsel’s office a rose, it always has thorns," Rubin said on Saturday.
She continued: "Specifically, while officially taking no position on alleged retaliation against Nauta’s lawyer, she encourages DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility to preserve evidence for its investigation of its prosecutors."
She also added that Cannon exempted Trump's related efforts from the dismissal ruling.
"And that’s before making clear, as she also does, that her disposition of Nauta’s motion has no bearing on Trump’s own allegations of selective and vindictive prosecution," Rubin added. "The Choose Your Own Judicial Adventure book continues."