The federal judge Aileen Mercedes Cannon, an immigrant of Cuban and Colombian roots, appears assigned to supervise and handle the criminal accusation againstformer president Donald Trump in a Miami court, according to judicial sources.
The assignment of Cannon, who was justly appointed to the position by Trump in 2020, implies that the judge would have the case in her hands in the initial phase of the review and formal presentation of charges after thehearing scheduled for next Tuesday, June 13, at 3 pm, but not necessarily that he will preside over the entire judicial process.
His name appears printed on the first page of thecharging document, 49 pages, released this Friday.
For now, the simple inclusion of Cannon in the procedural procedures of the prosecution and his background in the case of the documents seized by the FBI in the former president's residence in Mar-a-Lago, arouse special attention, with the eyes of the news coverage national positions in Miami and the “Colombo-Cuban” judge who already favored Trump in a previous ruling.
On Thursday afternoon, it was learned that an investigative jury decided prosecute Trump in connection with the investigation of classified documents seized by the FBI last year. Among the seven charges filed is obstruction of justice, which would carry up to 20 years in prison.
Trump thus became thefirst former president to be indicted on federal charges in US history.
The revelation especially shook Miami and Florida, already this week converted into the epicenter of international attention for another sporting event: the decision of thesoccer star Lionel Messi to add his talent to the Inter Miami team in the MLS.
The former president immediately made public the news of the indictment and pleaded not guilty. HeJustice Department has not made an announcement of the process, but this Friday the special advisor for the case,Jack Smith, defended the ongoing investigation and prosecution.
"In this country we have a set of laws that apply to everyone... Enforcing those laws, gathering facts, that's what determines the outcome of an investigation. No more, no less," Smith said from his office in Washington, DC.
Cannon's entry back into the process has sparked intrigue and speculation.
Cannon is no stranger to the classified documents case. Based in a Fort Pierce court, she was in charge of appointing a special expert to review the materials seized last August and determine that the FBI could not use all of the documents as part of the ongoing investigation against Trump.
But Cannon's order was ultimately reversed in its entirety by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, which found that the judge had exceeded her jurisdiction over the FBI investigation.
His designation for the first hearing of the prosecution can be explained precisely from that previous episode.
In most federal cases, judges are assigned at random, but Cannon's selection along with the magistrateBruce Reinhart, which appears in the subpoena to Trump, could be justified in that both already participated in the matter of the documents in the procedure, according to experts.
Reinhart was the judge who signed the orderMar-a-Lago initial registration last Augustand then ordered the disclosure of the affidavit of the search, which made him the target of criticism from Trump followers.
The explanation for these designations has to do with the origins of the investigation of the case, which broke out in Palm Beach County, under the jurisdiction of the Southern District of Florida. Experts believe that if the accusation is related to the search warrant and the possible obstruction of justice it was committed inMar-a-Lago, It is the judges and magistrates of the jurisdiction of Florida who must direct the process.
Either way, Cannon's assignment places her at the center ofone of the most momentous criminal cases in the political and judicial history of the United States.It is also mentioned that the presentation hearing could be in charge of the federal judge Erdwin Torres.
At the last minute it was learned that the initial hearing will be chaired by themagistrado federal Jonathan Goodman. Judge Cannon will not have to appear in court.
Although Cannon is involved only at the beginning of the process and has to decide on motions to try to derail the prosecution, his role will have enormous implications on the development of the case.
Cannon is 42 years old. She was born in Cali, Colombia, in 1981, the daughter of a Colombian advertising executive and a Cuban woman, and emigrated to the United States as a child.
He studied at Duke University, North Carolina, from which he graduated in 2003. After completing his law studies at the University of Michigan in 2007, he worked in the office of District Judge Steven M. Colloton, of the Eighth Circuit Court. of Appeals, and later joined the firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, in Washington, DC.
Beginning in 2013, she held a position as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Florida, in the Fort Pierce office, for seven years, until her appointment as a judge during the Trump administration.
Trump is scheduled to appear in court in Miami and then address a campaign fundraiser on the night of June 13, on the eve of his 77th birthday.
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