Is Aileen Cannon on her way out?
Someone once said (Sam Goldwyn? Yogi Berra?) that it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. Even so, I’m going to give it a try. There could be signs (or rumblings, or rumblings of signs) that District Judge Aileen Cannon is on her way out.
Why do I suspect this? First, because the New York Times recently reported that Judge Cannon was warned more than a year ago by two judges, one unnamed, the other chief judge Cecilia M Altonaga, that she should pass on adjudicating Donald Trump’s documents trial. In her famous wisdom, Cannon ignored them. Both judges were and remain staunch Republicans, so their warnings were probably not politically motivated. In other words, they sincerely meant their advice on the face of it.
Second, this kind of thing seldom gets leaked by accident. The deliberate leak, if that indeed is what it is, could be intended as a specific warning to Cannon. In other words, it’s possible that Judge Cannon has just been given a very public opportunity to step down gracefully — or be thrown out disgracefully. If that is indeed the choice, my money is on her being thrown out disgracefully. After all, Cannon isn’t exactly known for taking advice, especially when it’s good advice.
It seems the advice came in tag team form. The unnamed judge first came to her in confidence and quietly laid some home truths on her. First, that she is fantastically underqualified to handle the case. Second, that she is clearly deeply biassed, and her bias would quickly become a scandal if she took the position.
When she ignored that advice, the more senior chief judge Altonaga stepped in and warned her with a little more authority. No good. Cannon remained, and her record has been one of mounting absurdities.
Cannon might have even pulled it off. Had she played it cagey and created the appearance of fairness and wisdom, two qualities she lacks to a degree I did not think possible, she could have done what she clearly intended to do from the very first. She could have helped Donald Trump. When it actually mattered, during the actual trial, she might have helped him in ways that were subtle enough for her to get away with it but effective enough to get Trump acquitted. But because Cannon is stupid she took the Stupid Road all the way.
I’ll stick my neck out a little further. I think Cannon will be removed, if she is removed at all, after the debate. That way it will keep her removal from becoming an all-consuming feature of the debate. We shall, of course, see.
Speaking of the debate, there is already a move to provide Donald Trump with an excuse for losing. Believe it or not, there are rumours that Joe Biden will be replaced by a doppelgänger. You read that right. Photos are already circulating on Twitter (or “X,” as it’s known among the glassy-eyed idolaters of the new owner) and other social media flashpoints showing the subtly “different” Biden out there.
If you think that’s silly, remember that there are people alive today who actually believe that Paul McCartney died in an automobile accident in the 60s and was replaced by a musical genius who just happened to look exactly like him, for some reason. I forget the reason.
So yes, Biden being replaced will be widely believed amongst the galactically stupid. And Aileen Cannon might be replaced. In a world gone mad I can’t tell you which is more likely. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.