Monica Lewinsky has joined many liberals in calling for Judge Aileen Cannon to be impeached over her handling of the case involving classified documents taken from Donald Trump's home.
Cannon has been the source of fury and puzzlement among Trump critics after she issued rulings in the case that got overturned and failed to get it on track for trial before the November elections.
The 50-year-old former White House intern and activist joined those critics in demanding the Trump-appointed Cannon be impeached in a social media rant.
'I awakened angry about the documents case in Florida,' she wrote. 'It is INSANE that it hasn't moved forward to trial, and I hope judge Cannon is impeached,' she wrote.
Cannon most recently appeared to side with prosecutors when lawyers for Trump raised issues with the warrant that justified the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
Monica Lewinsky has joined many liberals in calling for Judge Aileen Cannon to be impeached over her handling of the case involving classified documents taken from Donald Trump's home
'IF the documents had been declassified (which they weren't) then all trump had to do was xerox them and return originals that were being asked for and explain they were declassified (again, for those in back, which they weren't),' Lewinsky continued.
Cannon most recently postponed a May trial date and has not scheduled a new one, raising the likelihood Trump won't face trial in his classified documents case before the November elections.
The lengthy diatribe continued, with Lewinsky furious at Cannon's actions, which she sees as favoring Trump.
'IF it had been an honest (ahem) mistake to take them… just return them — LIKE EVERY OTHER PRESIDENT WHO WAS FOUND TO HAVE CLASSIFIED MATERIALS IN THEIR PRIVATE POSSESSION. (which still would have warranted an investigation but maybe not resulted in a trial. The danger and damage done by this judge is mind-numbing'
Lewinsky famously had an affair with President Bill Clinton from 1995 until 1997, with their relationship beginning when she was a 22-year-old unpaid White House intern. It eventually led to his impeachment.
On August 17, 1998, after multiple denials, the former President appeared on television and finally confessed, insisting he was ‘solely and completely responsible’ for the relationship.
The affair and its fallout became known as the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.
She has since returned to public life in the last decade, with a television show produced about the affair with her involvement.
Cannon has been the source of fury and puzzlement among Trump critics after she issued rulings in the case that got overturned and failed to get it on track for trial before the November elections
Cannon most recently postponed a May trial date and has not scheduled a new one, raising the likelihood Trump won't face trial in his classified documents case before the November elections
Lewinsky has largely been an activist on behalf of liberal and feminist causes.
Trump was indicted in June 2023 and charged with illegally retaining national security documents at his Florida club.
Not long after the fact, two senior federal judges asked Cannon, who had been assigned the case, to step back, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing her limited trial experience and rulings that helped the defense.
Judge Cannon was confirmed by the Senate in November 2020, weeks before Trump left office, and had limited experience in the complex area of national security law and classified documents. Her Fort Pierce courtroom, unlike federal court south in Miami, wasn't equipped with a secure facility for document handling.
Among those urging her to step back from the case were judgeCecilia M. Altonaga, chief judge of the Southern District of Florida, a George W. Bush appointee who is the first female Cuban American federal judge.
Prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, successfully got an Appeals Court panel to overturn her order that was preventing the government from using classified documents seized from the former president during its investigation. It agreed with the DOJ's contention that 'the district court likely erred in exercising its jurisdiction.'
Federal judges such as Cannon make their own decisions on recusal or whether to relinquish a case.
Court clashes and filings have grown increasingly heated, with Smith's team calling one Trump legal theory 'pure fiction,' and Cannon blasting Smith's prosecutors for demanding a speedy decision 'unprecedented and unjust.'
Trump has blasted the case, federal prosecutors, and FBI agents who searched Mar-a-Lago. If he were to be elected president, he could use his authority to try to shut down the case
A year ago, experts identified the Florida case as the greatest threat to Trump. Now it is highly unlikely to see trial before the November election
The information on the pressure from colleagues, which Cannon resisted, comes out after the classified documents case – once called the most serious legal threat facing Trump – has little chance of getting tried before Trump faces a jury.
In May, Cannon accused Smith of making a 'bad faith' request to impose a gag order on Trump following his claim that the FBIwas authorized to shoot him during a search at Mar-a-Lago. She ruled against Smith, saying federal prosecutors didn't show 'professional courtesy' when they conferred with defense lawyers right before the start of the Memorial Day weekend.
Also in May, she postponed the trial indefinitely. It had been scheduled to begin May 20th.
