Former President Trump praised the judge overseeing his classified documents case as his legal team seeks a postponement of his trial in Florida.
Trump’s motion for a continuance of the trial, filed last Monday, awaits a decision by Judge Aileen Cannon, an appointee of the former president who presided over his initial challenge to the FBI search of his Florida home.
Asked on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News whether he believes the judge will grant the motion, Trump said he did not know.
“I know it’s a very highly respected judge. A very smart judge, and a very strong judge,” Trump said.
When host Maria Bartiromo noted that Trump appointed the judge in the case, Trump said, “I did, and I’m very proud to have appointed her.”
“But she’s very smart and very strong, and loves our country,” Trump said. “We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing.”
Cannon was confirmed as a district judge in the Southern District of Florida with a bipartisan vote in November 2020.
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Rulings from Cannon substantially slowed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Trump over his handling of classified documents upon leaving the White House, in one instance barring prosecutors from using the classified documents they seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
Cannon was twice overturned by a higher court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which greenlit the DOJ’s use of the documents and disbanded the special master process.
Trump pleaded not guilty last month to charges on 37 counts following a DOJ indictment alleging he violated the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them.