DOJ has rightly appealed Trumper Judge Cannon’s incoherent Order in favor of Trump in his manufactured dispute over government-owned [sic] documents the FBI retrieved from his home. In normal (read, non-Trump-related) circumstances, the qualification of Cannon as a “Trumper” judge would be inappropriate and (probably) unjust. But her decision, including its hints of the resentment characteristic of her and her champion’s worldview, is such an extraordinary hash of invented facts and misapplied law that the only reasonable conclusion is that she perverted justice for political reasons.
Did she do that intentionally to help Trump, or primarily to advance her own career aspirations? Not surprisingly, her decisions have given rise to media scrutiny. The recurring theme is how smart she is, an assessment based on little more than where she went to school. Leaving aside the suitability of that as a standard of measure (Trump attended Wharton; Dubya went to Yale and Harvard), at least one Florida attorney insists (anonymously) that “She is obviously very bright,” though he may have said that more to curry favor in advance of a future case before her than to offer an accurate assessment of her ability.
Let’s assume she’s smart enough. Clear is that she wanted the case. First, Trump’s lawyers intentionally steered it to her, the only District Judge at the Ft. Pierce courthouse in St. Lucie County, some 70 miles north of where the case should have been filed. Less clear is why the Ft. Pierce court clerk accepted a filing that specified Palm Beach County as the place “where the action arose”. Second, Cannon accepted the case despite the existing proceedings acknowledged by the docket entry: “The parties are hereby notified that Magistrate Judge [Reinhart] is available to handle any or all proceedings in this case.”
The question is why. Most federal judges are not short of work and usually ask, Why are you here? Do I have jurisdiction and, if so, must I take this case? Cannon never asked. Instead, she helped Trump with a do-over: “Plaintiff shall file a supplement … elaborating on the following: (1) the asserted basis for the exercise of this Court’s jurisdiction…; (2) the framework applicable to the exercise of such jurisdiction; (3) the precise relief sought, including … injunctive relief…; (4) the effect, if any, of the proceeding before Magistrate Judge Bruce E. Reinhart; and (5) the status of Plaintiff’s efforts to perfect service”. Other litigants can only dream.
Her subsequent statements and rulings show a judge working especially hard to protect Trump while furthering her own interests. She may be aware that the 11th Circuit or even the Supreme Court (her “bosses”) will likely overturn key elements of her rulings, particularly as they apply to classified documents. In her mind, that’s unlikely to matter because the audience she’s been addressing is limited to leading Florida and national Republicans (and, more generally, the broader like-minded public), people who would have the dispositive say on nominations for a future seat on the 11th Circuit or even the Supreme Court.
This means a long-term personal win even if she loses by getting reversed in Trump’s case. She’ll have established her bona fides among Trumpers and Republicans generally, people for whom loyalty is the only value that matters. When Trump ultimately loses his case against the US Government, Cannon will be seen as his lone and valiant defender in an unfair fight against the “Deep State”. It is her efforts to protect Trump, regardless how intellectually and ethically bankrupt those efforts have been, which will be the measure by which a future Republican administration will evaluate her suitability for promotion. If nothing else, she knows that much.
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