Aileen Cannon: The judge with Trump’s fate in her hands was appointed by him

The Florida district judge assigned to oversee Donald Trump’s classified documents case has attracted no shortage of criticism given a series of controversial rulings — and the fact that it was Trump himself who elevated her to the bench.

Aileen Cannon is the federal judge with the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida overseeing the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice case against Trump, who’s charged with the illegal possession of classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in January 2021 and for impeding efforts by the US government to reclaim them.

According to the indictment, Trump attempted to hide boxes of classified documents following a grand jury subpoena that ordered their return. Trump’s aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira were also indicted and have also moved to dismiss the charges against them. All men have pleaded not guilty.

If the former president is convicted, Cannon will be tasked with handing down a sentence to the very man who nominated her to that position.

Trump has insisted that he is “an innocent man” in angry statements and postings to Truth Social, alleging that he is the victim of “rabid wolves” and the “weaponization” of the justice system by the “corrupt” Biden administration, even as the indictment revealed photos of boxes of files stacked high in the glitzy ballrooms and bathrooms of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

Angela Noble, the court’s chief clerk, insisted that “normal procedures were followed” in assigning Cannon to the case.

However, Cannon came under fire for delivering rulings widely considered favorable to Trump throughout the investigation into the classified documents.

After the FBI