Judge #Cannon retracted her 2/6 order that wd have unsealed identities of ~2 dozen potential govt witnesses or FBI agents. She thereby likely averted having #JackSmith take her to 11th Cir over the issue
Her 24-pg order is defensive, blaming Jack for not having laid out his argumt more clearly earlier. With some basis tho. Jack’s team isn’t flawless. Its failure to meaningfully respond to #Trump’s & Press Coalition’s argumts for unsealing in Jan was baffling #legal
At the same time Cannon’s failure to appreciate the categorical sensitivity of witness identities and statements (so-called Jencks material, protected by statute 18 USC 3500 & Federal Rules) was also baffling.
Judge Aileen Cannon: Champion of the Public’s Right of Access to Court Documents—Containing Names...
Why she may retract—or the Eleventh Circuit may reverse—her Feb. 6 order to unseal the identities of prospective witnesses against Trump in the Mar-a-Lago case.
Jack’s team likely assumed that Cannon, after 7 yrs’ experience in the SD Fla US Atty’s Office, would appreciate those sensitivities. She didn’t.
In fact, her ruling still parades a forest-for-the-trees approach. She looks for mechanical rules—what sort of motion is the doc attached to?—instead of focusing on the doc’s content: fricking witness identities & statements!
In fact, she's still allowing witness statements to become public so long as speakers’ identities are shielded. The persistent danger is that these could influence other witnesses’ testimony or be read by prospective jurors
Only Jack can decide if those dangers warrant still seeking mandamus. But given that Cannon backed down from the worst aspects of her initial order, and his own team screwed up here, I suspect he’ll move on. I think he’ll have other opportunities.
Add comment