Cannon, whose oversight of the Donald Trump classified documents case has garnered widespread criticism, has repeatedly violated a rule requiring that federal judges disclose their attendance at private seminars. (ProPublica)
I was hoping Cannon would have her time in the barrel!
In 2021 and 2022, Cannon took weeklong trips to the luxurious Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana, for legal colloquiums sponsored by George Mason, which named its law school for Scalia thanks to $30 million in gifts that conservative judicial kingmaker Leonard Leo helped organize.
Current rates for standard rooms at Sage Lodge can exceed $1,000 per night, depending on the season. With both Montana trips, Cannon’s required seminar disclosures were not posted until NPR reporters asked about the omissions this year as part of a broader national investigation of gaps in judicial disclosures.
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Cannon’s annual disclosure form for 2023, which was due in May and offers another chance to report gifts and reimbursements from outside parties, has yet to be posted. (Cannon reported the two Montana trips on her annual disclosure forms, but the required 30-day privately funded seminar reports had not been posted. In 2021, Cannon incorrectly listed the school as “George Madison University.”)
The court’s administrative office declined to say if she requested a one-time extension to give her until Aug. 13 to file. A spokesperson would not discuss whether she met the deadline or the status of her disclosure, which must be reviewed internally.
Cannon’s performance during almost four years of a lifetime appointment has drawn criticism from lawyers, former federal judges and courtroom observers who told ProPublica that she doesn’t render timely decisions and has made unpredictable rulings in both civil and criminal matters. On July 15, she threw out the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith that alleges Trump mishandled classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence; Cannon called Smith’s appointment unconstitutional since he was not nominated by the president and approved by the Senate.
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By contrast, Trump, who appointed Cannon in 2020 to the Fort Pierce courthouse, has praised her brilliance, and Federalist Society founder Steven Calabresi called her a heroine for throwing out the criminal case against Trump.
h/t Scout211
Open thread.
rikyrah
Doesn’t surprise me in the least. She looks like a grifter.
my thing is…once again, there are reporters on these legal beats..
I ask once again..
Why aren’t THEY breaking these stories?
WHY, after the first story ProPublica broke about the Supreme Court…didn’t the rest of those REPORTERS ASSIGNED TO THE SUPREME COURT BEAT…Break those further stories?
TBone
@rikyrah: thank you for that AND for alerting me to this (Elie Mystal, below). I said I was gonna hit this bell with my hammer all week and so, not to diminish, but to add to the front page, DING DING DING
KABONG
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/how-john-roberts-trump-maga/
Another fascist with a lifetime appointment. Gawds help us.
fancycwabs
Her willingness to be bribed certainly puts her on the shortlist for a SCOTUS nomination in a future Trump administration.
bbleh
Well but this is entirely acceptable under the Thomas Doctrine of Rules Are For Other People.
Now, how about the latest crazy sh!t out of the Felon’s mouth? Boy THAT’s good for some headlines!
Glory b
Lots of local, state & federal mid level & above officials have to file the same disclosures, including me.
I can say with assurance that, unless an extension was requested in advance (barring emergencies), I would be warned that I risked discharge & my supervisor would have been made aware of my failure.
This is the same thing Clarence Thomas did. Unbelievably, he said he didn’t understand the disclosure requirements. Because he is a justice, he is held to a lower standard than thousands of lower level employees.
It looks like it will be the same for judge Cannon. How can we belive they can properly interpret the law if they can’t figure this out?
I will also point out that both Thomas & Cannon’s staff would have to complete them too.
TBone
@fancycwabs: I have not enough words at my disposal to describe my feeling about that possibility. None of them are ones that should be used in public, in print.
Sister Golden Bear
@rikyrah: Villagers gonna protect Villagers.
Citizen Alan
Very proud of my ongoing donation to Pro Publica. I may up it.
The Federalist Society is what you would get if the Ayn Rand Foundation and the KKK had a baby together and it grew up to go to law school at Liberty University.
Trollhattan
“Clarence said ‘no biggie’ and I always follow his lead.”
–Judge Cannon, probably
Why not hold out for a bigass RV? She’s really, really delivered the goods, bigly.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: It’s all abut access. In which case, they aren’t journalists, they are [insert insulting word here]. Ugh.
TBone
Too much heartbreak and grief and outrage for one day. I needed an antidote and this is a good go-to. This is our new President To Be.
NotMax
OT FYI.
After a hiccup upwards DJT stock has tumbled back down to handshake distance of $16 at today’s close.
Also OT, presume most of you have already heard about this.
Related:
Eolirin
@Glory b: Unlike Thomas, there are binding ethics guidelines for Cannon. Now we have to see if they’re enforced.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
I know SCOTUS is above being bound by such petty things as a code of ethics but I thought there is a binding code that applies to lower court judges? If so she may actually suffer some consequences.
jonas
Smith has appealed the dismissal to the 11th Circuit, correct? How long will it take them to vacate her ruling, remove her from the case, and put the trial back on course?
jonas
@Eolirin: I’ll be shocked if she faces any sanctions. It will just be waved away as some clerk’s oversight on the forms or something. Can always hope, though.
Dangerman
Aileen, come on.
The Lodger
Wonder how much conflict to expect between Cannon and Markenzy Lapointe, the new US Attorney in her district?
E.
I’m starting to think Judge Cannon is not all that bright.
Quinerly
@WaterGirl:
I trust you got my email in response to your email. I consider the matter closed. Please, no more emails. TY.
Quinerly
@Dangerman:
💚
I now gots earworm.
Chief Oshkosh
The amount of shit detail I have to go through to avoid even a hint of impropriety in working with the Feds is enormous. The idea that a federal judge would just blow this stuff off is enraging. They should be held to the HIGHEST standards, not to the lowest. If we ever hold the House, Senate, and WH simultaneously again, we have GOT to clean house with new laws, and flat-out move forward with applying what laws we do have to the judiciary, hard and good, good and hard.
piratedan
@Dangerman: you know what I mean, those documents, they mean everything….
Baud
The best thing about JD Vance is his ability to drive the conversation as a Veep candidate.
The Audacity of Krope
No such thing will come to pass, God willing
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Glory b: If it was too complicated for them to sort out, there was almost certainly a veteran employee (probable clerical HR staff, paid an eighth of their salary) who could have taken them through it. I’m betting a CPA with experience in this sort of thing could have handled it too, when they did the income tax, since surely they had all this information on hand already.
Gloria DryGarden
@TBone: swear words 14-510?
or perhaps you have advanced thesaurus entries and adjectival phrases dancing like sugar plums in your head…
one does feel large frustration about this judge and her “professional” behavior choices
bbleh
@jonas: the Felon’s lawyers have requested an extension until late October to file their brief, and the reporting is that it’s likely to be granted since that’s fairly routine. And THEN there has to be a hearing. And THEN they have to issue a decision, which CAN take MONTHS after the hearing. So … not soon, certainly not before the election, and likely not even before the inauguration. (And of course if the Felon wins, probably not ever.
Turns out that, if you’re facing a nearly cut-and-dried criminal prosecution and you want to delay proceedings indefinitely, it REALLY helps to have the trial judge biased heavily in your favor.
Jackie
O/T Who among us is surprised?
I’m really curious of how TCFG will respond to this. I’m sure he will immediately demand Russia to stop this atrocity at once! 🙄
do I need to insert sarcasm tags?
WaterGirl
@Quinerly: Haven’t read it, but I did receive it.
J.
And yet, sadly, there will likely be no consequences for Cannon. No fines or removal from the bench. Cannon will keep her judgeship and continue to make crappy decisions and rule unlawfully. Someone like Cannon would never have been appointed under a President Hillary Clinton. Yet another reason I moaned (and still moan) her loss to Trump.
NotMax
Harris Q&A at the NABJ.
cain
@rikyrah:
I joined as a monthly subscriber yesterday. My money is well spent.
TBone
Still ringing the bell, as my hammer never tires of clanging.
https://digbysblog.net/2024/09/17/chief-justice-wingnut/
Aileen is not impervious…yet. May she choke on the ashes of her reputation and legacy come November.
John Boy has got to be dealt with, as in dethroned and deprogrammed.
CLANG
cain
@Citizen Alan:
Pro Publica will the greatest opponent of the Federalist Society. Like we fund Ukraine to fight Russia, so must we fund Pro Publica.
Villago Delenda Est
Leonard Leo is an enemy of the Constitution of the United States.
Ocotillo
@jonas: My best guess is nothing will happen before the election which will determine also whether the case continues at all or is pulled by the new AG appointed by TCFG.
One thing that is not being discussed or at least I have not seen or heard anything about it is my hope that MVP will be a lot more aggressive about prosecuting these cases then Joe has been. I know the prez is supposed to be hands off on investigations the DOJ undertakes but the Roberts Court said, do whatcha wanna do.
NotMax
@Ocotillo
No no and thrice no. That way lies utter chaos.
TBone
Origin Story of the P2025 Schoolhouse Rock (courtesy of Spocko who shared the alert):
https://youtu.be/whO_poc3NwA
apocalipstick
Quinerly
Finneas and Billie Eilish endorse Harris!
“VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.”
JoJo and I are dancing around on the patio. (JoJo is a Billie fan. I humor him)
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/4884332-billie-eilish-kamala-harris-tim-walz-finneas-oconnell-trump/
West of the Rockies
@Jackie:
I hope to God/FSM that western intelligence is doing the same to Russia 24 hours a day. Fuck up Putin and his cancerous allies every which way possible.
Baud
@Quinerly:
👍
TBone
@Villago Delenda Est: 🎯
Mousebumples
Late ish to the thread – talking with WaterGirl, and we’re wondering if there’s interest in regularly scheduled postcard threads. I know we have a lot of people postcarding, but would it be fun to have a dedicated thread every week (*or however often) to do it as a collective?
If yes, when works for you?
Any suggestions for associated topics? Eg postcarding/music thread? Or cooking/recipe thread?
For me… I’m postcarding most nights, but Tuesdays are usually reliably free. Or maybe weekends? Those are less consistently available for me, but at least I don’t need to work the next day. XD
P.S. Might be posting this around a bit the next few days so apologies in advance if you see this multiple times… Just want to try to catch all potentially interested postcarders.
NotMax
@Mousebumples
Combined postcarding and music threads were a lot of fun.
And we could always use more fun.
Captain C
@E.: She’s pliable and Mar-a-Lago-grade attractive. That’s all TCFG cares about.
TBone
@Gloria DryGarden: any lowly clerk worth their salt could’ve been assigned to keep the records necessary for her to stay legal on the ethics & reporting requirements. I had to do it for attorneys every single weekday (keep track of everything, down to the minute and/or mile and/or credit or debit).
Trivia Man
@TBone: send a resume – maybe she will hire you!
“None of my lawyers were ever jailed or disbarred for improper records.” should be a bullet point.
TBone
@Trivia Man: 😆
infiltration by TBone? I could actually do that…
but someone wouldn’t survive
🎶
https://youtu.be/Qf-MaLXgl3A?si=FJ_3_p0uRQkCrJk4
Even better:
https://youtu.be/hZEN_l4j6mY
Salty Sam
Is “Whores” the insulting name you’re looking for? Early 2000’s media watchdog blog “Media Whores Online” had a catchphrase: “We set out to bring The Media to its knees, and found that they were already there.”
TBone
@Salty Sam: presstitutes
Mousebumples
@NotMax: Great! And, yes, I like fun too.