Judge Rejects ‘Orchestrated Campaign’ to Remove Trump-Appointed Judge from Classified-Docs Case

An appeals-court judge has shut down efforts to remove Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon from the former president’s classified-documents case.

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals chief judge William Pryor, in a May 22 order, rejected four complaints against Cannon for their lack of evidence to suggest that Cannon is engaging in misconduct:

“These complaints appear to be part of an orchestrated campaign, as described in Judicial-Conduct Rule 10(b) and the accompanying commentary. The Chief Circuit Judge of the Eleventh Circuit has considered and dismissed four of those orchestrated complaints as merits-related and as based on allegations lacking sufficient evidence to raise an inference that misconduct has occurred.”

The judge adds: “Although many of the complaints allege an improper motive in delaying the case, the allegations are speculative and unsupported by any evidence. The Complaints also do not establish that Judge Cannon was required to recuse herself from the case because she was appointed by then-President Trump.”

More than 1,000 complaints were made against Cannon by liberals seeking to have her removed from the case for supposedly ruling in Trump’s favor throughout the proceedings, CNBC reported. The Eleventh Circuit’s judicial council ordered the court clerk to not accept additional complaints against Cannon if they are similar to the four Pryor dismissed. Cannon’s orders in the classified-documents case are subject to the normal appeals process.

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner kickstarted the campaign to remove Cannon, urging listeners of his podcast to file complaints against her. To accompany his episode explaining why he believes she should be removed, he posted a YouTube video instructing fans how to file a complaint against Cannon.

“A lot of people took advantage of that step-by-step video, and they submitted those judicial complaint forms,” Kirschner said on his podcast.

Last month, Cannon indefinitely delayed Trump’s trial on 40 criminal charges for allegedly mishandling classified documents and obstructing the federal government’s attempts to retrieve them. Special counsel Jack Smith is prosecuting Trump in the classified-documents case and for his apparent role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

The classified-documents trial was originally scheduled to take place in May. Proceedings in the January 6 case are on hold until the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s presidential-immunity challenge later this year. Smith is pushing to get Trump on trial ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Trump was convicted last week of 34 felony counts in New York for falsifying business records of reimbursements he had paid his onetime fixer Michael Cohen for paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet leading up to the 2016 presidential election.