On Friday, Judge Aileen M. Cannon will preside over an unusual hearing in former President Donald J. Trump’s classified documents case. She will hear arguments by the defense to dismiss the charges in the case on the grounds that Jack Smith, the special counsel who filed them last spring, was improperly funded and appointed. While the subject of the hearing may seem rather technical, what is most unusual is that it is happening at all, the New York Times reports.
Reaching back to the early 1970s, courts have repeatedly rejected efforts like Mr. Trump’s to question the legality of independent prosecutors. It’s an example of how Cannon, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in his final days in office, has made a number of decisions that have prompted second-guessing and criticism among legal scholars following the case. Many of her rulings, on a wide array of topics, have been confounding to them, often evincing her willingness to grant a serious hearing to far-fetched issues that Mr. Trump’s lawyers have raised in his defense.