Judge Aileen Cannon Blocks Report Release, Gives Trump Time to Bury It

If these two scofflaws can run out the clock, the shredders will hum on January 20

In yet another episode of Justice Is Optional If You’re Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon, the same federal judge who threw out Donald Trump’s classified documents case last summer, has swooped in to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report. The ruling conveniently hands Trump the time he needs to retake office and ensure the report vanishes faster than classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Let’s recap: Cannon’s brief order prevents Smith from releasing his findings to the public until the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reviews the situation. This comes after Trump’s lawyers and those representing his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, scrambled to file motions claiming the report is “one-sided” and part of a “politically motivated attack.” In other words, the same tired playbook Trump’s team has been running since the day he descended that escalator in 2015.

Cannon’s history of bending over backward for Trump is no secret. She’s the judge who dismissed Smith’s classified documents case entirely this past summer, ignoring decades of legal precedent by ruling that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was “unlawful.” While Smith appealed her decision, Trump’s November election win led him to drop the case against Trump himself. With his return to power looming, it’s clear that Smith’s report represents his final opportunity to detail Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents—and Cannon is determined to stop it.