The judge assigned to the federal indictment case of former President Donald Trump is no stranger to the classified documents scandal or the former president himself.
The Justice Department unveiled a 49-page indictment on Friday that indicts Trump on 37 counts for charges related to alleged obstruction and mishandling of classified documents. An aide to the former president was indicted alongside Trump.
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Judge Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida was randomly assigned to the case over the weekend. Her prior run-ins with the former president caused heads to turn after her appointment was announced, as she has previously ruled in favor of Trump regarding the case.
Here's everything to know about the judge assigned to the classified documents case.
Who is Aileen Cannon?
Cannon was born in Colombia in 1981 and attended Duke University from 1999 to 2003 and the University of Michigan Law School from 2005 to 2007.
Prior to serving as a federal judge, Cannon worked in several law firms in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Iowa. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Fort Pierce, Florida, for the Southern District of Florida. Trump nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in May 2020, and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2020.
At the time of appointment, she was a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization, since 2005 and a member of the University of Michigan Law School Alumni Association since 2008.
What are her previous legal interactions with Trump?
Cannon's appointment to the federal indictment has drawn controversy due to her rulings in an earlier lawsuit 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. Cannon ruled that an independent special master should be appointed to review the documents seized by the FBI, particularly after it was revealed that Trump's personal information and medical records were among the documents found.
The ruling also ordered the Justice Department to pause its review of the records pending the completion of special master and veteran judge Raymond Dearie's review.
However, Cannon's pause on the DOJ's use of classified documents was reversed by an appeals court later in the month, and the entire special master process was tossed out by a higher court in December. She will remain as the presiding judge unless she recuses herself.
What impact can Cannon's appointment have on the case?
If she remains the overseer of Trump's criminal case, this means she could oversee a jury trial and have the final decision as to what prison sentence Trump would receive if he is convicted.
Several people, including former prominent prosecutors and judicial officials, jumped on social media to condemn Cannon's appointment.
"This is bad news for everyone except Trump. For a case as important as this one, it's critical to have a judge who is experienced, smart, and impartial. Judge Cannon fails on each of these dimensions. If she has any self-awareness, she should recuse herself," former DOJ Inspector General Michael Bromwich tweeted.
Looking ahead
The former president is set to appear in court on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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Prosecutors can argue that Cannon would have bias or prejudice in the case and file an affidavit asking for her recusal.
If Cannon finds the affidavit provides sufficient evidence to prove bias or if it can be argued that her impartiality might "reasonably be questioned" by parties or the public, she must step down, according to federal law.