Judge Aileen Cannon issued an order on Sunday that is particularly bad news for Special Counsel Jack Smith, according to a former prosecutor.
Ex-federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on her blog over the weekend about Cannon's recent filing, which Vance dubbed an "effort to convince us she really is working after months of foot-dragging." Cannon issued an order on redaction of currently private filings.
The filing was notable because Cannon said she was "disappointed" in the prosecutors.
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"This isn’t the first time Smith has been unfairly criticized by the Judge. He’s likely making a list in case the much-looked-for opportunity to appeal one of her rulings to the Eleventh Circuit manifests," she said.
Vance further noted that the judge "made an exception in her ruling that is particularly problematic."
"It involves Trump’s selective prosecution motion, where he argues that he’s been targeted by the government for a political prosecution," she said Sunday. "Judge Cannon held that 'The Court does not authorize Defendant Trump’s proposed redactions to witness statements in Exhibit 9.' She makes the same ruling in regards to a motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search of Mar-a-Lago by Trump."
She continued:
"This may sound innocuous or even like it’s a ruling in the government’s favor, but nothing could be further from the case. The Judge has already agreed to redact witnesses’ names from the motion because they would be exposed to risk if they were made public. Judge Cannon, as a former federal prosecutor, and based on specific arguments prosecutors made here, should understand that even when a name is withheld, revealing a witness’s testimony can be sufficient to identify them. She seems okay with that, though. That’s unacceptable in a case with a defendant like Trump."
