Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, has granted Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s request to to keep names of government witnesses secret. According to the new order, potential witnesses’ names will be redacted, though significant parts of witness statements to investigators may be made public.
Harvard Law-trained CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen — who was Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment of Donald Trump — characterized Cannon’s move as a “major about-face.”
Eisen wrote: “Judge Cannon backs down from releasing the names of witnesses. Major about face because she was scared of what the 11th Circuit would do.”
BREAKING and important in the Mar-a-Lago case
Judge Cannon backs down from releasing witness names
Major about face because she was scared of what the 11 Circuit would do. pic.twitter.com/OL3hWP9zGz
— Norm Eisen (#TryingTrump is out 4/10!) (@NormEisen) April 9, 2024
The 11th Circuit Court could ultimately decide to remove Judge Cannon from the case. According to former White House attorney Ty Cobb, the 11th Circuit has previously rebuked her handling of the case. “Her delays here are extraordinary,” he said. (Cannon has not yet set a trial date.)
Giving further credibility to Eisen’s assessment, the state attorney in Florida’s Palm Beach County, David Aronberg, told Newsweek that he believes “Jack Smith is close to pushing the nuclear button to ask the 11th Circuit to intervene and remove Judge Cannon from the case.”
Note: Eisen’s new book, Trying Trump: A Guide to His First Election Interference Criminal Trial, was released this week.