A proposed personnel roster circulating within Donald Trump’s campaign and transition operation lists Aileen Cannon, the federal judge who threw out Trump’s classified documents case, as a possible candidate for attorney general, multiple sources familiar with the matter have told ABC News.
Cannon’s name appears on a document reviewed by ABC News titled “Transition Planning: Legal Principals,” which lists potential staffing for the White House counsel’s office, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and U.S. attorneys’ offices, as well as proposed candidates for the top legal positions within multiple government agencies, should Trump be reelected.
The document was drafted by Trump’s top 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 after former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, according to the document reviewed by ABC News, which includes nearly a dozen potential candidates for attorney general. Cannon’s name was added to the list well after the classified documents case was thrown out over the summer, the sources said.
Trump nominated Cannon as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Florida in 2020 and has repeatedly praised her for dismissing the 40 criminal counts brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving 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.
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena, on Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Cannon’s name is just one among several potentially controversial candidates for the nation’s top law enforcement posts should Trump win reelection, according to sources familiar with additional personnel documents created by Trump’s transition operation.
Sources close to Trump’s transition team insist that any lists recommending how Trump should build out his cabinet are preliminary and are frequently updated. Trump has, for the most part, resisted engaging in formal transition conversations 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 propose several veterans from the first Trump administration for top DOJ posts — like Clayton, former DOJ Office of Legal Counsel assistant attorney general Steve Engel, and former Bill Barr chief of staff Will Levi — others under consideration include those who have publicly urged the former president to do away with the longstanding norms of independence between the White House and the nation’s law enforcement agencies.
For instance, other documents circulated within Trump’s transition operation show that potential candidates under consideration for attorney general include Jeffrey Clark, who pleaded not guilty after being indicted in Georgia for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election; Mike Davis, who has posted several controversial statements on social media promoting 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 lawyer and longtime friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who also represented Thomas’ wife Ginni during the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Documents also propose several of Trump’s defense attorneys for top cabinet posts — including his lead attorney Todd Blanche, who has appeared in Cannon’s courtroom multiple 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 positions, including White House counsel, according to the documents.
It’s not clear whether Judge Cannon’s name 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 ruling dismissing the case. A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.
Just last week, the man charged with allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump at his golf club in Florida, Ryan Routh, requested that Cannon recuse herself from his case, in part due to what his lawyers said was the potential for Trump to elevate her professionally should he be reelected president. The DOJ said it opposes the motion, arguing that the motion did not cite any authority mandating Cannon’s recusal.
Routh, who has pleaded not guilty to several federal charges including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, contended that 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 surfaced in preliminary discussions as potential candidates for attorney general include North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.
A Harris transition spokesperson denied any such compiling or narrowing of lists as “pure fiction.”
“Instead, we are focused on setting up the infrastructure necessary to be ready,” the spokesperson said.
Trump has recently escalated 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 from Trump and his allies that Democrats have weaponized the Justice Department through its prosecution of individuals involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as Smith’s dual prosecutions of Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump’s running mate and co-chair of his transition team, Sen. JD Vance, said recently that attorney general is the second most important position in an administration behind the president.
“You need an attorney general who believes in true equal justice under law,” Vance said earlier this month, attacking the Department of Justice and Attorney General Garland as the “most corrupt” in history.
