Jack Smith may seek to remove Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon from Mar-a-Lago seized docs case

Special counsel Jack Smith may seek the recusal of the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the case regarding classified documents.

According to NBC News, Smith recently criticized Judge Aileen Cannon's handling of Trump's “fundamentally flawed” claims regarding official and personal records when she asked the prosecution and the defense to bring forward competing versions of instructions for jurors in the case. Smith went on to indicate that if Cannon ruled against federal prosecutors, he could appeal to have her removed from the case.

Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg explained that Smith is “close to pushing the nuclear button,” and Cannon’s proposed jury instructions may have “pushed him to the breaking point.” The jury instruction proposal would consider the Trump team’s interpretations of how former Presidents can preserve classified documents after leaving office.

Cannon has stated that this decision was nothing more than “a genuine attempt… to better understand the parties’ competing positions and the questions to be submitted to the jury in this complex case of first impression.” She also called Smith’s request “unjust” for a ruling on whether the legal premise behind her request is a “correct formulation of the law,” per NBC News.

Trump's legal team has argued that the Presidential Records Act grants Trump the authority to determine the classification status of records, including those seized by investigators at his Mar-a-Lago estate. However, Smith's office has challenged this defense, asserting that it lacks factual basis and casting doubt on Trump's claim that the documents were made personal during his presidency.

In response to Smith's criticisms against the judge, Trump took to Truth Social to defend Judge Cannon, suggesting that Smith should face sanctions or censure for his remarks regarding the judge's request for jury instruction proposals.

"Deranged 'Special' Counsel Jack Smith, who has a long record of failure as a prosecutor, including a unanimous decision against him in the U.S. Supreme Court, should be sanctioned or censured for the way he is attacking a highly respected Judge, Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over his FAKE Documents Hoax case in Florida," Trump said in his post.



Smith's office has also expressed frustration with the pace of proceedings under Judge Cannon, particularly as Trump seeks additional time to present his arguments in Florida.