Judge Aileen Cannon, who launched Trump’s classified documents case, on shortlist for attorney general

A proposed staff list circulating within Donald Trump’s campaign and transition operation includes Aileen Cannon, the federal judge who threw out Trump’s classified documents case, as a possible candidate for attorney general, they have said to ABC News several sources familiar with the matter.

Cannon’s name appears in a document reviewed by ABC News titled “Transition Planning: Legal Principals,” which lists potential staff for the White House counsel’s office, the Justice Department, the FBI and the US attorneys’ offices, as well as nominees for top legal positions within multiple government agencies, should Trump be re-elected.

The document was drafted by top Trump advisers with input from Boris Epshteyn, who oversees Trump’s legal team and is one of Trump’s most trusted advisers, sources familiar with the matter said.

Cannon’s name appears second only to former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, according to the document reviewed by ABC News, which includes nearly a dozen potential attorney general candidates. Cannon’s name was added to the list long after the classified documents case was dismissed over the summer, the sources said.

Trump appointed Cannon as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida in 2020 and has repeatedly praised him for dismissing the 40 criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to Trump’s handling of classified material after to leave the White House.

Cannon dismissed the case on the first day of the Republican National Convention in July, on the grounds that Smith’s appointment as special counsel overseeing the case was unconstitutional because he was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress. Smith has appealed that decision.

Cannon’s chambers did not respond to multiple emails from ABC News seeking comment.

Cannon’s name is just one of several potentially controversial candidates for the nation’s top law enforcement posts should Trump win re-election, according to sources familiar with additional personnel documents created by Trump’s transition operation.

Sources close to Trump’s transition team insist that the lists recommending how Trump should build his cabinet are preliminary and are updated frequently. Trump, for the most part, has resisted engaging in formal transition talks with his inner circle, sources familiar with his thinking said.

Representatives for Trump’s campaign and transition teams did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

While sources told ABC News that some transition documents are proposing several veterans of the first Trump administration for top DOJ positions, including Clayton, former DOJ Office of Legal Counsel Assistant Attorney General Steve Engel and Bill Barr’s former chief of staff Will Levi, among others. to consider include those who have publicly urged the former president to eliminate longstanding rules of independence between the White House and the nation’s law enforcement agencies.

For example, other documents circulated within Trump’s transition operation show that potential candidates for consideration for attorney general include Jeffrey Clark, who pleaded not guilty after being indicted in Georgia for his alleged efforts to void the 2020 election; Mike Davis, who has posted several controversial statements on social media touting plans to target Trump’s political opponents, imprison members of the media in “gulags” and put migrant children “in cages”; and Mark Paoletta, a former White House counsel and longtime friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who also represented Thomas’ wife, Ginni, during the House Select Committee’s investigation into January 6 assault on the United States Capitol.

The documents also nominate several of Trump’s defense attorneys for top cabinet posts, including his senior attorney Todd Blanche, who has appeared in Cannon’s courtroom several times and is listed as a candidate for deputy attorney general and White House counsel . Sources tell ABC News that Blanche is also being considered for FBI director.

Stanley Woodward, who represented Trump valet Walt Nauta in the classified documents case, is also among those being considered for top jobs, including White House counsel, according to the documents.

It’s unclear whether the name of Judge Cannon being considered by Trump’s team could influence Smith in determining whether to ask to be removed from the classified documents case if an appeals court overturns its decision dismissing the case. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.

Last week, the man accused of trying to kill Trump at his Florida golf club, Ryan Routh, asked Cannon to recuse himself from his case, in part because of what his lawyers said was the possibility that Trump would elevate her professionally. will be re-elected president. The DOJ said it opposed the motion, arguing that the motion failed to cite any authority ordering Cannon’s recusal.

Routh, who has pleaded not guilty to several federal charges, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, said Judge Cannon “owes her lifetime appointment to the alleged victim in this criminal case.” according to the motion.

Regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ transition, two sources close to the process told ABC News that several names that have come up in preliminary discussions as potential attorney general candidates include North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.

A spokesman for Harris’ transition denied any compilation or reduction of lists as “pure fiction.”

“Instead, we are focused on establishing the necessary infrastructure to be ready,” the spokesman said.

Trump has recently stepped up his rhetoric on the campaign trail as he continues to threaten to prosecute his political enemies should he win the 2024 election.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has sought to refute accusations by Trump and his allies that Democrats have weaponized the Justice Department by prosecuting people involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as double prosecutions of Smith against Trump for his alleged mishandling. of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump’s running mate and co-chairman of his transition team, Sen. JD Vance, recently said the attorney general is the second most important position in an administration behind the president.

“You need an attorney general who believes in true justice equal to the law,” Vance said earlier this month, attacking the Justice Department and Attorney General Garland as the “most corrupt” in history.