CNN  , — ,
In the case involving former president Donald Trump’s classified documents, Judge Aileen Cannon is once more ripping up the court plan, pushing some of the constitutional issues that have been her topic for months.
Cannon , is planning on holding a sprawling reading on , Trump’s request to proclaim Jack Smith’s nomination as special counsel invalid,  , signaling she could be more ready than any other trial judge to reject the particular prosecutor’s authority.
A novel,  , unexpected twist is also added to the designed hearing at the federal criminal case against the former president, according to Cannon on Tuesday, who stated that a variety of political partisans and constitutional scholars who are not usually involved in the case can participate in the dental arguments later this month.
It’s an extraordinary increase of arguments in a criminal case filed this week and likely wo n’t go to trial until the following year, if at all.
Wednesday, Cannon went farther, adding a reading on a , gag order demand from prosecutors , to reduce Trump’s rhetoric about rules enforcement , and allotting more time to hear arguments on the special counsel problem.
Cannon will hear arguments on those issues the week of June 21, as well as on the effort by Trump , to throw out evidence in his case , that was gathered by the FBI in its 2022 search of Mar- a- Lago or , provided by his former attorney , Evan Corcoran to a grand jury.
She also postponed other hearings without setting a new hearing date.
The most recent example of Cannon’s approach to the national security case is the calendar shuffling: setting aside time in court for arguments that other courts have largely denied, and putting off the resolution of various legal matters for months.
Challenges to special counsel’s office have failed nationwide
Similar challenges from Trump and other high- level targets of special counsel probes have flopped from coast to coast in recent years: Hunter Biden’s attorney did n’t get anywhere with judges in Los Angeles and Delaware, Paul Manafort ‘s , arguments fell flat , when the former Trump campaign chairman challenged special counsel Robert Mueller’s authority, and Andrew Miller, a former , associate of Roger Stone, also lost his challenge to Mueller’s authority.
Even with other federal trial- level judges allowing special counsels ‘ criminal prosecutions, Cannon could , rule differently.
In the same week that Republicans are criticizing Attorney General Merrick Garland for his use of special counsel, Cannon’s announcement that he would be open to accepting criticism of the special counsel comes.
The subject is likely to remain in the political debate until June 21 when Cannon holds a hearing on the legal authority of the special counsel to prosecute a defendant.
Cannon has already adopted a completely different approach from other federal trial-level judges who have handled criminal cases brought on by recent special counsel offices, of which there have been five since Trump took office.
While others have moved quickly to trial, including special counsel David Weiss ‘ case against Hunter Biden in Delaware this week, eight months after the indictment, Cannon has not made any progress on pre-trial matters involving Trump and his two co-defendants. Many of the most important legal issues to be resolved in the Trump-related classified records case, which the Justice Department first brought against Trump in June, are n’t yet ready for a decision.
And it’s not unusual for a federal trial judge to permit a defendant’s legal challenges to the case itself as part of a defendant’s legal challenges. That work is essentially reserved for defendants ‘ teams to bring and argue in federal courts across the country, in opposition to Justice Department prosecutors. Even in rare cases, allowing third parties to argue in court is even rare.
The fact that these motions are even being entertained by a hearing is absurd. That third parties are being allowed to opine , at the hearing is absurd” , , Bradley Moss, a national security law expert based in Washington, DC, told CNN.
However, Cannon has been persuaded by three different legal teams that they should be able to argue for her. Two of those groups support Trump’s position to dismiss the case against him and say the special counsel, for various constitutional reasons, does n’t have authority to prosecute. A third group contends that the Department of Justice should support the use of a special counsel.
Two former Republican- appointed US attorneys general, Edwin Meese and Michael Mukasey, are part of the groups of so- called “friends of the court” that side with Trump and , whom Cannon will hear from. The three groups will be allowed to argue, in addition to Justice Department and defendants ‘ lawyers, for 30 minutes each, according to the court record.
According to them, Meese and Mukasey, given their prior positions leading the Justice Department, have a unique insight to impart to the judge.
Trump’s attempt to question federal officials was delayed
Meanwhile, Cannon on Wednesday delayed a previously scheduled multi- day proceeding where Trump’s team , wanted , to question federal government officials under oath about how they conducted the investigation.
Trump’s legal team is angling to convince the judge to force the government to turn over , more records from far- flung offices , of the executive branch. Making federal government officials witnesses at this stage of the case, as Trump wants, according to the special counsel’s office in person months ago, would be an unprecedented exploitation of the court, according to the special counsel’s office.
Cannon remained committed to the hearing that Trump desired.  , But that hearing is no longer on the schedule.
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This story has been updated with additional developments.
