Judge Aileen Cannon was told to STEP DOWN from the Donald Trump classified documents case by fellow judges in shocking move 

• e-mail

Senior judges in Florida approached Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon last year to ask her to step back from his Mar-a-Lago classified documents case – but she steadfastly refused, according to a shocking new report.

Cannon has been the source of fury and puzzlement among Trump critics after she issued rulings in the case that got overturned and failed to get it on track for trial before the November elections.

Trump was indicted in June 2023 and charged with illegally retaining national security documents at his Florida club.

Not long after the fact, two senior federal judges asked Cannon, who had been assigned the case, to step back, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing her limited trial experience and rulings that helped the defense.

Judge Cannon was confirmed to the Senate in November 2020, weeks before Trump left office, and had limited experience in the complex area of national security law and classified documents. Her Fort Pierce courtroom, unlike federal court south in Miami, wasn't equipped with a secure facility for document handling.

Senior judges encouraged Judge Aileen Cannon to step back after she was assigned the Trump classified documents case. She stayed on instead

'Her critics have suggested that she could be in over her head, in the tank for Mr. Trump — or both,' as the Times put it in its report, which relied on sources who relayed details of the entreaties, which came by phone.

Among those urging her to step back from the case were judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, chief judge of the Southern District of Florida, a George W. Bush appointee who is the first female Cuban American federal judge. 

Prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, successfully got an Appeals Court panel  to overturn her order that was preventing the government from using classified documents seized from the former president during its investigation. It agreed with the DOJ's contention that 'the district court likely erred in exercising its jurisdiction.'

Among those who have blasted her procedural decisions over the past year are lawyer George Conway, who last year announced his divorce from former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway. He called Cannon 'she’s uniquely incompetent but effective.’

Federal judges such as Cannon make their own decisions on recusal or whether to relinquish a case. 

A year ago, experts identified the Florida case as the greatest threat to Trump. Now it is highly unlikely to see trial before the November election

Trump has blasted the case, federal prosecutors, and FBI agents who searched Mar-a-Lago. If he were to be elected president, he could use his authority to try to shut down the case

U.S. District Chief Judge Cecilia Maria Altonaga has been identified as asking Judge Cannon to decline to oversee the case

Court clashes and filings have grown increasingly heated, with Smith's team calling one Trump legal theory 'pure fiction,' and Cannon blasting Smith's prosecutors for demanding a speedy decision 'unprecedented and unjust.' 

The information on the pressure from colleagues, which Cannon resisted, comes out after the classified documents case – once called the most serious legal threat facing Trump – has little chance of getting tried before Trump faces a jury.

In May, Cannon accused Smith of making a 'bad faith' request to impose a gag order on Trump  following his claim that the FBI was authorized to shoot him during a search at Mar-a-Lago. She ruled against Smith, saying federal prosecutors didn't show 'professional courtesy' when they conferred with defense lawyers right before the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

Also in May, she postponed the trial indefinitely. It had been scheduled to begin May 20th.