Jack Smith has to 'spoon feed' Aileen Cannon the law in classified docs case: legal expert

Special counsel Jack Smith is losing his patience with far-right Judge Aileen Cannon in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case as she slow-walks the process in favor of former President Donald Trump and disregards her own duties in jury instructions, argued former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance in a lengthy post on X Wednesday.

Her post came after Smith submitted a blistering court filing in which he faulted the judge for, among other things, ordering the jury consider if classified documents Trump was hoarding were his personal property under the Presidential Records Act.

In fact, Vance noted, Smith calls out that it was supposed to be Cannon's job to make that determination herself in pretrial hearings, not leave it as a hypothetical for the jury to consider.

Trump had argued that Cannon should dismiss the trial based on his claim that the PRA made the classified documents his personal property. So far, she has not done that.

"Judge Cannon ducked ruling on Trump's motion to dismiss the classified documents case based on the Presidential Records Act, instead asking lawyers to submit jury instructions assuming it did. Special Counsel's Office isn't buying it," wrote Vance.

"That's because if the Judge doesn't rule ahead of trial she can dismiss the prosecution during trial & in that posture the government can't appeal because of double jeopardy. So it was clear they would have to force her hand at this point."

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Federal prosecutors aren't usually this "aggressive" with judges, Vance wrote — but "she left them with no other choice."

What's more, Vance concluded, Smith appears to be setting up an appeal to the 11th Circuit, just like he did a year ago when Cannon blocked the FBI from accessing the seized classified documents in a counterintelligence investigation, and the appellate judges above her smacked her down hard.

"The Special Counsel cites law from the 11th Circuit's sister circuit, the Fifth, that lets them bring a writ of mandamus asking the appellate court to correct a district judge's decision to use a clearly erroneous jury instruction that could lead to acquittal," wrote Vance.

"Smith spoon feeds the Judge the law, giving her the opportunity to get it right even at this late date. If she doesn't, expect the 11th Cir to bench slap her when he appeals in a way that makes last year's decision look mild (& they weren't)."