Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb said on Wednesday that he thinks the 11th Circuit Court might decide to remove Judge Aileen Cannon from the case about former President Trump’s mishandling of secret documents at his Florida estate.
In an interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” the former Trump administration official referred to special counsel Jack Smith’s most recent submission and said he thinks it's clear that Smith could bring the case to the 11th Circuit if Cannon doesn't make a decision quickly.
“I think that Jack Smith– I think the filing today makes it clear that she has to rule, and if she doesn’t rule under either scenario, they’ll be in a position to take her up to the 11th Circuit. And I think the 11th Circuit will likely take her off the case,” Cobb said.
Cannon recently instructed both sides in Trump’s documents case to propose jury instructions that would largely take into account Trump’s view of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), the law that dictates how records created during a president’s term must be handled and later archived. Cannon gave the instructions despite failing to consider Trump’s earlier motion to toss the case on those grounds.
In an unusually direct submission, Smith criticized Cannon for accepting Trump’s “fundamentally flawed legal premise” that the classified documents found at his Florida home were somehow his personal property. He called on Cannon to make a decision on the matter promptly.
Cobb pointed out that the 11th Circuit has criticized Cannon’s handling of the case before, which has been significantly delayed under Cannon.
“Her delays here are extraordinary,” he said, noting that it was “remarkable” that Cannon has not yet set a trial date.
Cobb disagreed with the notion that Cannon’s supposed mistakes could be explained simply by inexperience or incompetence, stating, “the evidence of her bias is pretty palpable at this stage of the game.”
“I think the evidence is just too overwhelming,” he later added. “I mean, yes, she may be incompetent, but at this stage of the game, her incompetence is so gross that I think it clearly creates the perception of partiality, and her attempt to put her thumb on the scale. So, I think that should disqualify her.”
Trump is largely facing charges under the Espionage Act, which forbids the intentional retention of national defense information. He is also accused of obstructing justice by trying to hide the records from authorities after they asked for them to be returned.
