Unconvinced Mar-a-Lago judge says it’s ‘difficult to see’ how Trump’s nod to George Washington can make Espionage Act indictment vanish

Donald Trump, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith

Donald Trump (AP Photo/Mike Stewart), File), U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The Thursday motion hearing in the Mar-a-Lago case on former President Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss his Espionage Act indictment offered a hint or two as to the judge’s leanings, but court watchers were clear on their view, whether in advance of or during the proceeding, that the defense’s “exotic” and “long shot” contentions should be rejected.

All eyes were on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon as she heard first from Trump attorney Emil Bove that the indictment should be dismissed on grounds of “unconstitutional vagueness” as applied to the defendant.

According to Politico, Cannon grilled the Special Counsel’s Office for examples of other high-level ex-executive branch officials facing prosecution under the Espionage Act while also focusing on the timing of the alleged crimes.

“If that’s the theory of the indictment,” that Trump began violating the Espionage Act as soon as he was out of office, “then there would be other officials who clearly would have run afoul of this provision as charged,” Cannon reportedly said to Bove.

As Law&Crime reported at length prior to the hearing, the “unconstitutional vagueness” argument attacked the indictment as a whole but also specifically as to count 19, which the Trump legal team, including Bove, Chris Kise and Todd Blanche, challenged by pointing to Trump’s “Q clearance.”

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