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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon may have intimated that she's prepared to rule against Donald Trump following three days of hearings involving the former president's classified documents case.
The federal judge heard arguments from both sides in the case over Trump's requests to dismiss the case in which the former president faces 40 felony counts related to his handling of sensitive materials after leaving the White House. Tuesday's hearing pertained to a push by the defense to limit evidence that could be used by prosecutors, arguing that the documents seized during the FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2022 should be inadmissible because the search warrant was improperly obtained and lacked specificity.
Cannon did not immediately rule on the defense's motions, but reports from the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Tuesday said that the judge hinted she is leaning toward siding with prosecutors. Court journalist Adam Klasfeld said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, after court adjourned that Cannon "remarked it seemed like the warrant was particular enough" toward the end of the hearing.
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"That would seem to be the ballgame in favor of prosecutors on this issue," Klasfeld said.
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Lawfare correspondent Anna Bower also reported that Cannon "appears poised" to reject Trump's challenge of the FBI search warrant and "grew frustrated" with Trump attorney Emil Bove toward the end of Tuesday's hearing.
"She [Cannon] reminded Bove that the relevant legal question at issue is whether the warrant is sufficiently particularized," Bower wrote to X. "'It seems like it is,' [Cannon] said."
Other reports regarding Tuesday's hearing described Cannon as showing frustration toward both sides Tuesday. ABC News reported that the judge at one point told federal prosecutor David Harbach "please try not to put words in my mouth" toward the beginning of the session. Harbach was also reprimanded by the judge for his "tone" during Monday's hearing.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment Tuesday afternoon.
When reached for comment following Monday's hearings, which focused on Trump's claims that Special Counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed and that his office's funding was "unconstitutional," the Department of Justice (DOJ) told Newsweek that Smith's office would decline comment beyond the arguments it has made in court.
The DOJ also directed Newsweek to Smith's response to the defense's motions to have the case dismissed based on the appointment and funding of the special counsel. Prosecutors said in their filing that Trump's arguments "lack merit" and do not "justify dismissal of the [indictment] that was properly returned by the grand jury."
Trump first faced charges related to the documents case in June 2023. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 40 felony counts against him, while repeatedly claiming that all his legal troubles are part of a political witch hunt.
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