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I'm your host, Greg Sergeant.

This week Special Counsel Jack Smith made a surprise move in his prosecution of Donald Trump for stealing classified documents.

He called on the judge in the case, Eileen Cannon, to make a quick decision on a key matter.

This is a risky play that openly flaunts Smith's frustration with Cannon on a range of

rulings that seem to be putting the thumb on the scale for Trump.

So what's canon up to here?

Today we're talking to Philip Rotner, a long-time lawyer who has written a series of

pieces for the bulwarkwark arguing that we should not

delude ourselves. Cannon is killing the case against Trump right before our very

eyes. Rontner argues that Smith should try to get cannon removed because her interventions for Trump are likely to get worse.

Welcome, Philip.

Oh, thanks for having me.

First, let's talk about the dispute that triggered Jacksmith's response.

Trump's lawyers are arguing that he can't be prosecuted for stealing national security documents

because he used the Presidential Records Act to convert them into his own property.

That's absurd, but we'll get to that in a bit.

...