While the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, listens to his defense attorney Todd Blanche deliver his closing argument in the alleged “hush money” trial in Manhattan, there is news on Trump’s classified documents case in Florida.
MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang reported today that Trump-appointed “Judge Cannon has DENIED, without prejudice, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Motion to Modify Trump’s bond conditions because…Smith didn’t ‘meaningfully confer’ with Trump’s counsel before filing the motion.”
Judge Cannon’s inexperience, and more, are showing. https://t.co/R7MyUWf10K
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads) (@AWeissmann_) May 28, 2024
Andrew Weissmann, former Assistant U.S. Attorney and lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller‘s Special Counsel’s Office (2017–2019) responded to Phang’s report: “Judge Cannon’s inexperience, and more, are showing.”
Note: Many of Phang’s followers responded to her report with speculation that Smith knew Cannon would deny the motion and that he will proceed to approach the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to remove Cannon from the case.
Phang added: “Special Counsel Jack Smith is not in a position to appeal this Order. IMO: Judge Cannon could have just ordered a quick briefing schedule and dealt with the ‘lack of meaningful conferral’ issue at the hearing. But this move by her just underscores how much she enjoys publicly chastising the Government. This is an issue of form over substance. Smith’s bond modification motion seeks to address a serious and substantial issue. Cannon’s order minimizes the import of the reasons behind the motion.”
Smith may not be in a position to appeal this Order, as Phang writes, but former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance has suggested that Smith was anticipating Cannon’s rejection and may have filed his motion for a different reason — the future appeal of the case itself.
“Why did Smith go this route [asking Cannon to change the conditions of Trump’s pre-trial release] instead of asking for a gag order?” Vance asked last week, before suggesting another possible Smith motive. “That’s a great question, and I think it suggests where Smith is headed. 18 U.S.C. § 3731 is the statute that governs appeals that are taken by the United States (rather than by a defendant). It specifically authorizes the government to appeal if a district judge denies a motion to modify the conditions of release.”