Donald Trump arrested: Judge Cannon issues first order for lawyer security clearances
Kaelan Deese
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The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump‘s latest criminal case gave her first order since the historic arraignment earlier this week.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered defense attorneys Thursday to contact the Justice Department to expedite the process of obtaining security clearances to be in compliance by no later than June 20.
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“On or before June 16, 2023, all attorneys of record and forthcoming attorneys of record shall contact the Litigation Security Group of the U.S. Department of Justice, if they have not done so already, to expedite the necessary clearance process for all team members anticipated to participate in this matter,” Cannon wrote in her Thursday afternoon order, marking her first one since U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman stepped aside from the case.
Trump’s lead counsel in the case includes New York-based attorney Todd Blanche and attorney Chris Kise, who is licensed to practice in the Southern District of Florida. The former president’s co-defendant, Walt Nauta, has yet to enter a plea because he doesn’t have a local attorney. He’s expected to be arraigned on June 27.
Cannon, 42, was appointed by Trump in November 2020 and has a relatively short resume in criminal cases, having presided over just four trials since her appointment.
Cannon’s random selection to Trump’s case has drawn controversy due to her rulings in an earlier issue relating to the classified documents saga.
In September 2022, Cannon ruled in Trump’s favor on a lawsuit he filed two weeks after the FBI raided his home in Mar-a-Lago in August, siding with his request to obtain an independent special master to review documents seized by the FBI. She also ordered the DOJ to pause its review of the records, though the entire special master process was tossed by a higher court in December.
Cannon’s longest sentence she ever delivered was 310 months for a child trafficker, and in some instances, she has been prone to give consecutive sentences that significantly lengthen jail terms.
Prosecutors led by special counsel Jack Smith charged 77-year-old Trump with 37 counts stemming from his handling of classified documents.
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Trump pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court Tuesday and later returned to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort, where he delivered a 32-minute speech attacking the special counsel, claiming he does “political hit jobs” and that he’s a “raging and uncontrolled Trump hater, as is his wife.”
Altogether, Trump could face up to 400 years in prison and nearly $9.5 million in fines if he is convicted.