One of Judge's Cases Could Be Relevant in Trump Trial

Aileen Cannon is overseeing a complex health care fraud prosecution
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2023 7:10 PM CDT
One of Judge's Cases Could Be Relevant in Trump Trial
In this image from video provided by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Aileen Cannon testifies virtually during her nomination hearing to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on July 29, 2020.   (Senate Judiciary Committee via AP)

The cases US District Judge Aileen Cannon typically has handled have concerned "reentry of deported aliens," almost all of which were resolved by plea deals and brought sentences up to 1½ years in prison. They would seem to not be much preparation for presiding over the first federal prosecution of a former president in US history. She's overseen just four criminal trials, the longest of which took three days, in her less than three years on the bench. But Cannon has one case before her that could have parallels to the upcoming trial of Donald Trump, Politico reports.

For more than a year, Cannon has brought a health care fraud case close to trial, a complex criminal prosecution of 10 defendants. It has involved battles over attorney-client privilege and motions to suppress—issues that could surface in the prosecution of Trump. She's decided pretrial motions while handling the Trump case last fall. Cannon has been criticized for not distinguishing herself in that case; a federal appeals court overturned a couple of her decisions benefiting Trump and generally sounded skeptical about her reasoning. So far in the health care case, however, Cannon regularly has issued rulings in the prosecution's favor.

One was a rejection of the defendants' claim that the government had failed to turn over exculpatory material. She agreed with prosecutors on access to grand jury transcripts and on a motion to dismiss charges. Cannon also backed prosecutors on defendants' claim about taking action based on attorneys' advice, an argument Trump has made. In sentencing, she has leaned toward imposing prison sentences consecutively, per Politico, so defendants receive no break for concurrent terms. In a carjacking and firearms trafficking case, for example, in which the defendant pleaded guilty, Cannon gave him 91 months on the first count and 84 on the second, so he received a total of 175 months in prison. (Read the full story.)

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