Judge Aileen Cannon shoots down Donald Trump’s “Presidential Records Act” motion

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There are almost no words for how in over her head Judge Aileen Cannon is when it comes to Donald Trump’s classified documents criminal case. She seems to be trying to incrementally delay the trial in various small ways (even as the media falsely assigns magical powers to her that she doesn’t have), but she also seems to have no idea how to cover her own tracks.

Things are at a point where Special Counsel Jack Smith is threatening to have the 11th Circuit intervene and perhaps even remove her, over the insane instructions she wants to give the not-yet-seated jury. Yet even as this plays out, Cannon seems to be trying to play both sides.

This afternoon Cannon denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case based on the Presidential Records Act. There are those who insist that these kinds of rulings are all part of Cannon’s secret evil genius master plan, so she can wait until jeopardy is attached and then rule to dismiss. But nothing about Cannon’s actions to date suggests that she’s this savvy or this bold. Instead it continues to appear that Cannon is simply throwing darts when it comes to these rulings. After all, she has no idea how the law and the court system even work.

We’ll see what the 11th Circuit ends up doing. If Cannon is removed from the case, then none of the rulings she’s making right now will end up mattering anyway. It’s difficult to predict precisely where this is headed. But let’s keep in mind that Cannon does not have magical powers, no matter how many times the media insists she does. She’s simply in over her head – by a lot.