On Tuesday, Trump entered a plea of not guilty in a Miami federal court to 37 criminal charges, accusing him of mishandling classified documents upon leaving office in January 2021 and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them. This indictment marked the first time in American history that a former president faced criminal charges.
Numerous experts, including Trump’s former allies like ex-White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, have asserted that the federal case against Trump is strong and could potentially result in a lengthy prison sentence for him and delay Trump’s legal battle.
However, Maddow holds a different view. During a live broadcast of The Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday, she admitted her own fallibility in making predictions but suggested one possible resolution of the case. She proposed that “Judge Aileen Cannon retains jurisdiction and effectively dismisses the case without officially acquitting Trump.”
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, was randomly selected by the court’s computerized assignment system to preside over the case against the former president. Despite calls from ethics experts for her resignation, she will oversee the proceedings in the coming months and ensures that she wins Trump’s Legal battle.
It should be noted that Cannon was not present at Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday, as magistrate judge Jonathan Goodman handled the proceedings. It seems that Cannon wants more legal evidence about the case.
Maddow speculated that Cannon might “effectively” make the case disappear by employing various tactics. Whether through direct acquittal or other means, she could ensure that the case does not progress in a timely manner, thereby delaying any significant consequences until after the resolution of other ongoing cases against Trump.
Former federal prosecutor Christine Adams, now a partner and founder at Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein in Los Angeles, remarked that due to Cannon’s role in the case, it is difficult to assess the likelihood of Trump being found guilty at this early stage. The evidence presented at trial will depend on Cannon’s rulings regarding the release of classified material by the government, as well as her decisions on defense motions alleging prosecutorial misconduct and biased selective prosecution by the Department of Justice.
Maddow also presented another potential outcome for Trump’s case. She suggested that Trump and his lawyers may continue to assert his right to handle the documents in question, even though he lacks such authority. In this scenario, they could reach a settlement where Trump pleads guilty to a lesser charge, avoiding imprisonment and allowing him to claim political victory without facing further public scrutiny.
Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, pointed out that Trump’s legal team might argue that he declassified the documents, thereby exempting them from the Espionage Act’s provisions relating to national defense. However, proving this assertion would be challenging.
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