Federal judge shoots down 'orchestrated campaign' to remove Trump-appointed judge in classified documents case

[riversedge]

Source: msn





Story by Michael Lee • 7h • 2 min read



A federal judge derided an apparent effort to get the judge overseeing former President Trump’s criminal classified documents case removed, arguing the Florida judge appeared to be the victim of an "orchestrated campaign."

Judge Aileen Cannon was the target of more than 1,000 complaints in a single week last month, with critics accusing her of intentionally stalling the criminal case against Trump until after the election, according to a report from CNBC.

But 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Pryor shot down the effort, saying in a May 22 order that he "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."










Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/federal-judge-shoots-down-orchestrated-campaign-to-remove-trump-appointed-judge-in-classified-documents-case/ar-BB1nurut?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=5784a512462d43cf848c4c5fd479a2b2&ei=20

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Nothing more to this story.

[ilovegamers43]

1. They protect their own

[Irish_Dem]

2. The fix is in.

The powers that be are hell bent on this case never getting to trial.

[BlueKota]

54. Yes.

The Republican Judges are going to let him skate on everything.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Bet we will know about this Judge William Pryor soon.

[appmanga]

4. "Complaints"...

aren't motions and parties not involved in a case had better have some real proof before a higher court will act on a complaint.

[orangecrush]

37. Welcome to DU

[marble falls]

5. An appeal to the next level. This ain't over.

[onenote]

7. What is the "next level"?

[agingdem]

57. Here's what I'm thinking...

Jack Smith is a very smart patient man...he knows if this goes to trial with this MAGA judge before the election the chances of an acquittal on some ridiculous technicality is almost a given..and double jeopardy kicks in...but when Biden wins the election, Smith will appeal (regardless of what Justice Pryor warns) and Smith will get Cannon removed and Trump will go to trial...

what do you think?

[mucifer]

6. It won't matter anyway when the right wingers on the supreme court hand trump immunity

[Traurigkeit]

13. They can't. Due to someone else being President right now.

[NYC Liberal]

15. They'll find a way to make it apply only to Trump.

Most likely they will say “official” actions are immune, anything else isn’t, and then rule that Trump’s actions fall into the “official” category. Which allows them to exonerate Trump while not giving Biden immunity.

[Traurigkeit]

17. That will give a template for Dark Brandon

[onenote]

8. I know I shouldn't say I told you so, but -- I told you so.

The complaint procedure hawked online by Kirschner as the way to get Cannon removed was never going to work for the reasons detailed in this comment.

Wondering what all those "experts" that said that the 11th Circuit was primed to take Cannon down if Smith would just ask think now?

See https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18949244

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. A public campaign of complaints is different from a judge's third reversed error, which might yet occur. . . nt

[FBaggins]

23. Not by much

I remember reading an article several years back about a federal judge being pressured to resign (who had already taken senior status) after being reversed 38 times (and partially reversed dozens more).

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. Sure. But Loose Cannon has been reversed twice in this case already, if my recollection is good. . . . nt

[onenote]

35. There is no "three strikes and your out" rule for judges.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

39. It's not a rule, and no precise tipping point. Not even Cannon knows, but she knows she's on thin ice in this case. . nt

[FBaggins]

41. That's wishful thinking I'm afraid

The chances of her being replaced are quite slim.

The chances of the prosecution even asking the 11th to do so are almost equally slim... as there is little to nothing to be gained and quite a bit to lose.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

43. You are more likely right than not. . . . . nt

[AZLD4Candidate]

10. Bush lite appointee from 2005.

[PSPS]

11. As it should with these "orchestrated campaigns"

Sure, we all know Cannon owes trump for her position and appears to be intentionally delaying the case. But courts aren't, nor do we want them to be, "courts of public opinion." Some media gasbag who gets their fans all riled up to write a bunch of spittle-splattered letters is no way to run a justice system.

[DallasNE]

12. The Wikipedia Page On Pryor (He Is A Real Doozy)

Eleventh Circuit nomination and confirmation
Pryor was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit by president George W. Bush on April 9, 2003, to fill a seat vacated by judge Emmett Ripley Cox, who had assumed senior status.[15] Originally, William H. Steele had been nominated to the seat in 2001, but his nomination had become stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee during the 107th United States Congress because African-American groups protested his decisions in two civil rights cases as a magistrate judge. His nomination was withdrawn in January 2003. Pryor was nominated as Steele's replacement.[citation needed]

Despite the fact that the 108th United States Congress was controlled by the Republican Party, Senate Democrats refused to allow Pryor to be confirmed, criticizing him as an extremist, citing statements he had made such as referring to the Supreme Court as "nine octogenarian lawyers" and saying that Roe v. Wade was the "worst abomination in the history of constitutional law."[16]

During the confirmation hearing, Pryor was criticized in particular for filing an amicus brief in 2003 on behalf of the state of Alabama in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Lawrence v. Texas that urged the Court to uphold Texas penal code § 21.06, which classifies homosexual sex as a misdemeanor.[17] Pryor wrote in the brief that "this Court has never recognized a fundamental right to engage in sexual activity outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage, let alone to engage in homosexual sodomy,"[18] further arguing that the recognition of a constitutional right to sodomy would "logically extend" to activities like "prostitution, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, incest and pedophilia."[19][20][21]

Due to a filibuster of his nomination, George W. Bush installed Pryor as a circuit court judge on February 20, 2004, using a recess appointment to bypass the regular Senate confirmation process.[22] Pryor resigned as Alabama's attorney general that same day and took his judicial oath for a term lasting until the end of the first session of the 109th Congress (December 22, 2005), when his appointment would have ended had he not been eventually confirmed.[23]

On May 23, 2005, senator John McCain announced an agreement between seven Republican and seven Democratic U.S. senators, the Gang of 14, to ensure an up-or-down vote on Pryor and two other stalled Bush nominees, Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. On June 9, 2005, Pryor was confirmed to the Eleventh Circuit by a 53–45 vote.[24][25]

Pryor received his commission on June 10, 2005.[26] On June 20, 2005, he was sworn in at the age of 43.[27][failed verification]

[niyad]

16. JFC. Thank you for posting this. I am going to go throw up now.

[orangecrush]

38. Jeebus

What a pos

[brush]

14. Oh, brother. As if it's not obvious what Loose Cannon is doing.

[slightlv]

18. Looks like the whole circuit is in on the fix.

Damn feels the FOJ doesn't want us to know what could come out in trial, and Cannon and the rest of the circuit doesn't want him prosecuted for it

Spider sense tells me this case is huge and they're not only going to let him get away with it. They're gonna keep it all from us.

Gosh... when do the next planes hit which buildings with T's and courts approval? /s

[onenote]

51. Or maybe the 11th circuit likes following its rules.

[Qutzupalotl]

19. This is in response to complaints from a public write-in campaign,

which seems to have only succeeded in pissing off a judge.

I'll wait to see what happens if or when Smith sends his formal appeal to the full circuit.

[PortTack]

20. Same...it just has to be a majority on an appeal like this right? Not every single judge?

[FBaggins]

24. Yes... but it's a fairly red circuit and he's the chief

[ShazzieB]

21. I'm not surprised that didn't work.

I don't think that's how any of this works.

Bless those people for trying, but there are some things a letter writing campaign can accomplish and some things it can't.

I'll wait and see, too. Jack Smith knows what he's doing and how to do it.

[BaronChocula]

22. My appreciation to those involved in this so-called orchestrated campaign

They're doing something. It's the kind of tenacity you see in the teamaga cult that mobilizes against every single fucking thing. They don't win every battle, but they do win some.

[FBaggins]

26. So called?

Glenn Kirschner riled up his audience and gave them step by step instructions on how to file a complaint. What else would be required for it to be orchestrated?

[onenote]

31. The participants in this orchestrated campaign were misled by Glenn Kirschner.

He urged people to use the judicial complaint process, claiming it could force Cannon out. But the rules governing that process are clear. First, it cannot be used to complain about a judge's merit based rulings or about procedural delay. Second, the rule specifically states that when numerous identical complaints are received as part of an "orchestrated campaign", the chief judge can direct the clerk to stop accepting them. Kirshner should have known -- indeed, must have known -- that what he was urging people to do, going so far as to provide them a template -- was going to fail and was going to piss off the chief judge.

[FBaggins]

34. It wouldn't be the first time

He has a habit of opining well outside his expertise.

As you say - this is one where he should have known better.

[cstanleytech]

25. That in no way is a legitimate reason to turn it down rather they should be looking at the facts of the complaint itself.

[onenote]

50. So you expect the court to ignore the clearly stated rules regarding such complaints?

Rules that say allegations of judicial misconduct based on delay in a single case or that raise an issue regarding the merits of a judge's ruling are not legitimate grounds for such a complaint? Rules that say orchestrated complaints, such as those promoted by Kirschner, will not be accepted?

This was obvious when Kirschner misled folks in to filing complaints. You may not like the rules, but that's not a justification for Kirschner ignoring them and people following his lead.

[cstanleytech]

59. Why should orchestrating invalidate legitimate facts?

[onenote]

60. You miss the point. The rule is intended to save the court from having to process and consider duplicative complaints.

To the extent there are complaints that raise substantially similar claims but are not part of the orchestrated complaint, the court has indicated it is considering those complaints and has rejected them because they are at odds with the rules stating that complaints based on the substance of a judge's rulings, including complaints about delay in a single case, are not merits based grounds for finding judicial misconduct. The remedy for merits based challenges are for the other party to bring an appeal.

https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/courtdocs/clk/GeneralOrder2024-J.pdfHere are the relevant portions of the ruling:

"Many of the complaints against Judge Cannon request that the Chief Circuit Judge remove her from the classified-documents case and reassign the case to a different judge. But neither the Chief Circuit Judge nor the Judicial Council has the authority to take this action under the Rules for Judicial-Condu ct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings. See Judicial-Conduct Rule 11 (Chief Judge’s Review); Judicial-Conduct Rule 19 (Judicial-Council Disposition of Petition for Review); Judicial-Conduct Rule 20 (Judicial-Council Action Following Appointment of Special Committee).Many of the complaints against Judge Cannon also question the correctness of her rulings or her delays in issuing rulings in the case. But judicial-Conduct Rule 4(b)(1) provides that "[cjognizable misconduct does not include an allegation that calls into question the correctness of a judge’sruling, including a failure to recuse.” And judicial Conduct Rule 4(b)(2) provides that cognizable misconduct does not include allegation about delay in rendering a decision or ruling, unless the allegation concerns an improper motive in delaying a particular decision or habitual delay in a significant number of unrelated cases.” The “Commentary on Rule 4” states that “a complaint of delay in a single case is excluded as merits-related.” 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. See Straw v. United States, 4 F.4th 1358, 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (“There is no support whatsoever for the contention that a Judge can be disqualified based simply on the identity of the President who appointed him.”)."

"Orchestrated Complaints. When many essentially identical complaints from different complainants are received and appear to be part of an orchestrated campaign, the chiefJudge may recommend that theJudicial council issue a written order instructing the circuit clerk to accept only a certain number of such complaints for filing and to refuse to accept additional complaints....Because the orchestrated complaints received on and after May 16 raise allegations that have been or will be considered in previously filed complaints against Judge Cannon for filing nd processing would not provide any benefit to the adjudication of the merits of the allegations against Judge Cannon.

[cstanleytech]

61. Ahh so essentially it's that it's a duplicate of something else that is already been filed or that was already decided.

That clears it up a bit though I'm not sure if they should ban them all.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. Pryor. I should have known.

I was very worried that Shrub would install him on the USSC.

[sl8]

29. The source is "Fox News". "msn" is just the aggregator. nt

[FBaggins]

40. So?

The provided three paragraphs are straight news and accurately reported.

[sl8]

42. That's fine, but it's still incorrect to identify the source as "msn".

The "There's nothing more to this story", is also incorrect, although the OP may have been speaking figuratively.

[Polybius]

46. I always thought that you had to put down whatever the link says

Since this link was msn.com, the OP was correct.

[sl8]

53. Why do you think that?

Here are the rules you see when posting:

There are strict guidelines for starting discussions in this forum: Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.

Story title:
Post EXACT TITLE, without additional comment

Link:
If no link yet, you may leave blank and edit later

Source:
Eg. Washington Post, Associated Press, etc.


Excerpt:

Are there others that you've seen?

To me, the source is the source, regardless of where you happened to read it. If it's a Washington Post story, the Washington Post is the source. It doesn't matter if you saw it on the WaPo website, msn or Google News, or in Frank's barbershop.

In the OP case, even the aggregator, msn, clearly gives the source as Fox News. Why would DU want someone to change the name of the given source?

[Botany]

30. The courts and the judgeships are the right's firewall against the rule of law and the majority.

In Ohio in 2006 (?) two women were found guilty of rigging the 2004 recount of
Cuyahoga County’s vote. A Republican judge dropped the charges and cut them
lose.

Cannon, Alito, Scalia, Pryor, O’Conner (bush v Gore), Thomas, and so on are not about
the rule of law but about protecting the rule of a Republican minority over the majority
of this nation’s population.

Cannon’s actions in giving cover to Trump for his theft and in my mind no doubt the
dissemination of America’s top secrets is disgraceful she is just one one more right
wing hack whose backing by “The Judicial Crisis Network*” has placed her on a Fed,
Bench Seat where she has no business being because she doesn’t believe in the rule
of law.

[Novara]

32. "Judge Aileen Cannon was the target of more than 1,000 complaints in a single week last month"

From the general public? Well, duh - that won't have an effect.

To my knowledge, Jack Smith has not asked for her recusal.

This is nothing but a sideshow, people. Don't get distracted. Complaints from the public - even voluminous complaints - aren't going to get a judge off a case. Proper legal channels need to be pursued.

I suspect it's one of two things: either Jack Smith is allowing the foot-dragging and nonsensical rulings to pile up so the case in its entirety is overwhelming or he has no intention of asking for her recusal. If it's the former, I can see the logic. Each of her missteps, all of her delay tactics - taken one by one are not egregious. But if you mass them together to show a clear pattern, there's a case there. She's smart enough to come close to something outrageous without overstepping that boundary with each ruling or delay.

[onenote]

33. I wonder if anyone actually wants to read the judge's order before commenting.

https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/courtdocs/clk/GeneralOrder2024-J.pdf

As explained in the order, before May 16, the 11th circuit had received several misconduct complaints about Cannon. Apparently some had been disposed of, others are still pending. Starting on May 16, shortly after Kirschner posted his video urging people to file complaints and giving them specific instructions not only how to do so but what to say, the court was flooded with over 1000 substantially similar complaints in less than a week's time.

As I had pointed out in a post immediately after Kirschner circulated his video, those complaints were doomed because the were contrary to the express terms of the court's rules, both substantively and procedurally. Folks complaining about Pryor's ruling clearly are unaware of those rules -- although Kirschner has no excuse for not knowing the rules and, in my opinion, knew that what he was urging was going to fail but was looking for attention.

Here is the court's explanation of the decision.

Many of the complaints against Judge Cannon also question the correctness of her rulings or her delays in issuing rulings in the case. But judicial-Conduct Rule 4(b)(1) provides that "[cjognizable misconduct does not include an allegation that calls into question the correctness of a judge’sruling, including a failure to recuse.” And judicial Conduct Rule 4(b)(2) provides that cognizable misconduct does not include allegation about delay in rendering a decision or ruling, unless the allegation concerns an improper motive in delaying a particular decision or habitual delay in a significant number of unrelated cases.” The “Commentary on Rule 4” states that “a complaint of delay in a single case is excluded as merits-related.” 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. See Straw v. United States, 4 F.4th 1358, 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2021) (“There is no support whatsoever for the contention that a Judge can be disqualified based simply on the identity of the President who appointed him.”).

That decision, by the way, doesn't dispose of all complaints -- some are still pending. But it dismisses on substantive grounds, the virtually identical complaints spurred on by Kirschner. It also orders that future complaints that are substantially similar to those complaints not be accepted, citing an express rule against "Orchestrated" complaints.

[et tu]

36. wow rw extremists can scream and yell

make noise everyday but a push back against a
rw judge gets 'dissed'- unbelievable

[EllenD]

44. Another Maga

I looked up this Judge. He is a Republican and is not the person who should be ruling on Judge Cannon. He is also a member of the Federalist Society. So much corruption and Judge Cannon is pretty much a defense attorney for trump. The young man who showed top secret documents to his friends on line was held in jail until trial. His arrest came after trumps. He has had a trial and is sentenced I believe to 14 years in prison. Judge Cannon is delaying this case until after the election on purpose.

[Polybius]

47. More like a Baga

Bush judge.

[onenote]

48. What part of his ruling is inconsistent with the clearly stated rules regarding petitions alleging misconduct?

[republianmushroom]

45. And the DOJ filed the case in Florida because there may have been delays in DC.

..."retaining White House documents at Mar-A-Lago, as the DOJ decided to bring charges against Trump in Florida rather than Washington, D.C.—a decision that could speed up the legal proceedings, but also be a friendlier venue for the ex-president."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/06/09/heres-why-trump-is-being-indicted-in-florida-and-why-it-matters/?sh=1238c7c21fdb

Good move , thank you DOJ, you bet'um Little Beaver, damn good move.

[onenote]

49. Every one of the counts in the indictment has a nexus to Florida

Many, if not all, have no nexus to DC.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

52. Sshhh, don't spoil the anti-Garland crowd's indignation

They heard talking heads say it, so it must be true!

[republianmushroom]

58. And for the Garland cheer leaders

Last edited Mon Jun 3, 2024, 07:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Rulings highlight how Trump’s classified documents case could have gone differently had it been

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/27/politics/trump-classified-documents-case-florida-dc/index.html

[republianmushroom]

62. Dub post

[republianmushroom]

63. Rulings highlight how Trump's classified documents case could have gone differently

had it been brought in DC
Before indicting Donald Trump last year for allegedly mishandling classified documents, federal prosecutors had to decide where to bring the charges: Washington, DC, or Florida.
Those approaches became apparent in the past week as opinions were unsealed from two DC federal judges indicating how much more quickly and harshly for Trump the case might have played out had it remained in Washington.


Rulings highlight how Trump’s classified documents case could have gone differently had it been

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/27/politics/trump-classified-documents-case-florida-dc/index.html

[BlueKota]

56. As long as Smith still has a right to ask to get her

Trump loving ass kicked off for cause, it's not great,but not a total loss yet.