Judge Cannon has rejected a major dismissal request for a Donald Trump co-defendant in the Espionage Act case in Florida, according to court records Saturday.
Cannon, who earlier in the day was put on notice by a former prosecutor who said she was in danger of being removed from the classified documents case, has been criticized for appearing biased in favor of the former president who appointed her to her lifetime position on the federal bench in Florida.
Over the weekend, however, Cannon surprised some onlookers by rejecting a motion by Walt Nauta, Trump's valet, to be dismissed from the case for alleged selective prosecution and vindictive prosecution.
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@88_piano_keys posted the order on social media and added, "Occasionally Judge Cannon gets it right. She denied Walt Nauta's motion to have his case dismissed."
Legal analyst and MSNBC host Katie Phang chimed in:
"NEW: Judge Cannon DENIES Trump co-defendant, Walt Nauta’s motion to dismiss the indictment on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution."
In the order, Cannon specifically rejects Nauta's argument that he had shown similar cases that weren't prosecuted.
"The two individuals identified as comparators in the Motion are distinguishable both in their conduct and in their relationships to the charges," Cannon wrote Saturday. "Second, Defendant Nauta argues that he was discriminatorily prosecuted for exercising his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination: that is, the Special Counsel indicted him for declining prosecutors’ invitation to appear before a grand jury. Even if the Court were to accept that Defendant Nauta invoked his Fifth Amendment right, there is no evidence showing that Defendant Nauta’s exercise of his privilege against self-incrimination motivated the charges against him."
She concluded:
"In sum, Defendant Nauta has not met the 'rigorous standard' necessary to obtain the relief he seeks in the instant Motion."
