U.S. District Judge Aileen Mercedes Cannon
Cannon, meanwhile, has previously been grilled on whether she would show "loyalty" to Trump during her appointment hearings.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked Cannon if, at any point during her nomination process, she had discussions with anyone, including at the White House or DOJ, showing “loyalty” to Trump. Cannon responded, "No."
When asked about comments Trump made as a candidate and as president, Cannon replied, “As a judicial nominee, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the political statements of elected officials, including President Trump.”
Cannon was nominated by Trump to the federal bench in May 2020, and she was confirmed by the Senate in November 2020 in a 56-21 vote.
Cannon graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2007 and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida from 2013 to 2020.
The DOJ website features one case prosecuted by Cannon while she was an assistant U.S. attorney, in which a Miami resident was charged with five counts of theft of government funds in 2015 after he allegedly received more than $112,000 in fraudulent tax returns in 2010 and 2011.
As a judge, Cannon oversaw another 2021 case, which resulted in a civil injunction order signed by the judge that permanently barred a Florida tax return preparer from preparing federal tax returns for others after preparing returns for customers that fabricated business expenses of over $40,000 in one instance and over $20,000 in expenses plus over $22,000 in costs of goods sold in another.
She had also been a law clerk for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from September 2008 to September 2009 and was a member of the conservative Federalist Society starting in 2005.
Cannon said in a Saturday order that she was providing notice of her "preliminary intent to appoint a special master in this case” and noted the decision was made due to the "exceptional circumstances presented."