U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by former President Trump, will initially oversee his federal case, ABC News reported Friday based on sources familiar with the matter.
Judge Cannon was involved with Trump’s case prior to his indictment, granting him in September his request for a “special master” to review the classified documents taken from his Mar-a-Lago estate. An appeals court later overturned Trump’s special master request after the Justice Department appealed Cannon’s ruling.
NEWS – Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, initially assigned to oversee his case: Sources
Story w/ @alex_mallin @lcbruggeman https://t.co/FBX2kE3kPd
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) June 9, 2023
Cannon was appointed by Trump in May 2020 and confirmed by the Senate that November to be the U.S. district judge of the district court for the southern district of Florida. The court maintains jurisdiction over federal cases in the southern part of Florida.
Trump was indicted by the Justice Department Thursday night on at least seven charges related to his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. (RELATED: 2024 GOP Candidates React To Trump Indictment)
🚨 Trump says his attorneys have been informed that he’s been indicted in the classified documents probe: pic.twitter.com/dM0Ujp50Bz
— Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) June 8, 2023
The charges resulted from an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump mishandled classified documents and obstructed government efforts to retrieve them. Trump’s estate was raided by FBI agents in August as part of the government’s efforts to get Trump to return the documents.
He announced on Truth Social Thursday he will be summoned on June 13 to a federal courthouse in Miami. (RELATED: ‘Bunch Of Malarkey’: Biden Pressed On Bribery Scheme Allegations)
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump said on Truth Social.
Trump was indicted in late March by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, making him the first president in history to be indicted. He pleaded not guilty in April to 34 charges of falsifying business records related to an alleged hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.
President Joe Biden is also under investigation by a DOJ Special Counsel for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Biden’s lawyers found classified documents in November at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., a think tank where Biden had an office. Additional classified documents were found in Biden’s Delaware residence following searches by his lawyers and DOJ investigators.