Trump praises Judge Aileen Cannon in classified documents case: 'She's very smart and very strong'

WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump in an interview praised U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing a federal case related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

Trump was indicted last month by a federal grand jury and pleaded not guilty to 37 counts for storing and hiding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and making false statements. His legal team filed a motion to postpone his trial indefinitely.

On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump whether he had any indication that Cannon will grant his motion − a move that federal prosecutors are pushing back on.

“I don’t know. I know it’s a very highly respected judge, a very smart judge and a very strong judge,” Trump said. 

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Cannon was nominated by Trump to be the district judge for Southern Florida in 2020 and was confirmed with a bipartisan vote. She’s faced public scrutiny for issuing rulings favoring Trump, including granting his request to have a special master review the documents seized by the FBI from his Mar-a-Lago estate last year.

Trump said he is “very proud” to have appointed her in the interview.

“She’s very smart and very strong and loves our country,” Trump said. “We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing.”

Trump's trial in the classified documents case is scheduled to begin Aug. 14.