The Florida judge who tossed out Donald Trump's classified documents case is on a list of Attorney General nominees should the former president defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, 43, who was appointed to the bench at the Southern District of Florida by Trump in 2020, is on a list of potential candidates for the top spot in the Department of Justice (DOJ), ABC News, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, reported Tuesday.
On July 15, Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Trump, ruling Jack Smith's appointment as special counsel overseeing the case was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress. Trump was facing 40 federal charges related to his handling of presidential documents, some deemed classified, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He pled not guilty before the case was tossed.
ABC News reported that Cannon's name appears on a document it reviewed titled "Transition Planning: Legal Principals," which lists potential staffing for the White House counsel's office, the DOJ, the FBI, and U.S. attorneys' offices, as well as for top legal positions within multiple government agencies should Trump win.
The news network reported the document was drafted by Trump's top advisers with input from Boris Epshteyn, who oversees Trump's legal team and is one of the former president's most trusted advisers.
Cannon's name appears second after Jay Clayton, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Trump administration, on a list of nearly a dozen potential Attorney General candidates. Her name was added to the list well after the classified documents case was thrown out, the sources told ABC News.
Several of Trump's defense attorneys are candidates for top cabinet posts, ABC News reported, including his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, as deputy attorney general, White House counsel, and FBI director. Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump valet Walt Nauta in the classified documents case, is also among those being considered for top positions, including White House counsel.
It's not known whether Cannon being under consideration by Trump's team could influence Smith in determining whether to request her removal from the classified documents case should an appeals court overturn her dismissal ruling. A spokesperson for the special counsel's office declined to comment to ABC News.
Newsmax reached out to Trump's campaign for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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