Transcript

🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!

From MeidasTouch · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 17 min · 2,703 words · 20 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!", an episode of MeidasTouch published February 15, 2026 (17 min, about 2,703 words). It mentions 20 people, works and ideas, including Donald Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Jack Smith, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

What this episode is about

Judge Eileen Cannon is facing scrutiny from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for her attempts to suppress volume two of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and subsequent obstruction of justice. Despite her extended inaction after Trump’s election victory, the appeals court has now mandated that she make a ruling to advance the legal proceedings concerning the case.

Key takeaways

  • When a judge's inaction entangles the DOJ and Trump, justice gets suspiciously cozy with chaos.
  • If Eileen Cannon's ruling starts a document bonfire, it might just spark an inferno of accountability.
  • The DOJ agreeing to destroy evidence? That's not transparency; it's a magic act where justice disappears.
  • The Night First Amendment Institute lit the torch for public access; let’s hope it illuminates Cannon's courtroom.
  • In a battle for transparency, even a conservative court could break tradition to save democratic integrity.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 3:00: Judge Aileen Cannon, Donald Trump, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Jack Smith
  2. – 6:00: Department of Justice, Judge Aileen Cannon, First Amendment Institute, Knight First Amendment Institute
  3. – 9:00: Judge Aileen Cannon, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Harry Litman, Talking Feds
  4. – 12:00: Donald Trump, Historical Accounting, Mara Lago, Obstruction of justice
  5. – 15:00: Jack Smith, Totalitarianism
  6. – 16:58: Harry Litman, Historical Accounting, Talking Feds, Talking Feds

Notable quotes from "🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!"

  • Donald Trump and his stoogge judge Eileen Cannon are being called out before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for trying to destroy volume two of special counsel Jack Smith's report in.
    about Judge Aileen Cannon · at
  • Unconstitutional. She was the only judge to ever make that type of ruling. And then after Trump won the election, the appeals in that matter were essentially mooded. But the…
    about Donald Trump · at
  • Supposed to make some ruling one way or another regarding the report prepared by special counsel Jack Smith, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had to actually intervene. That's…
    about 11th Circuit Court of Appeals · at
  • And then the Department of Justice, which is supposed to be justice, is the one supposed to say, you know what, these documents by law are required to be released with proper redactions. But.
    about Department of Justice · at
  • Petition to intervene. So we haven't got a ruling there. She's doing the cannon and we're really worried that what's about to happen 11 circuit is she's going to make this…
    about Jack Smith · at
  • Let's call in Harry Litman from the Talking Feds YouTube channel, Talking Feds podcast, and Talking Feds Substack.
    about Harry Litman · at
  • Left? What is left for the democracy to try to reckon with what happened and try to prevent things in the future? Some kind of historical accounting. I mean it is on the one…
    about Historical Accounting · at
  • It's a concerted effort literally to whitewash the history books as you have in totalitarian regimes that just present false accounts state sanctioned that is so kind of down the middle or a cornerstone of what it means to live in.
    about Totalitarianism · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Donald Trump — Person · Central referenced subject (defendant/intervenor) · 6 mentions · first at
    Portrayed as attempting—alongside DOJ alignment—to prevent release and even seek destruction of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Volume Two report tied to the Mar-a-Lago documents case and related obstruction allegations.
  • Judge Aileen Cannon — Person · Referenced judge / decision-maker in dispute · 9 mentions · first at
    Described as the district judge who dismissed the Mar-a-Lago documents case and is accused of delaying rulings on release of records, prompting 11th Circuit intervention and raising concerns about potential destruction orders.
  • Jack Smith — Person · Referenced prosecutor / report author · 5 mentions · first at
    Special Counsel whose report (especially Volume Two) is the focal document; discussed as having investigated/prosecuted Trump regarding classified documents and obstruction, with disputes over release/redaction versus destruction.
  • Harry Litman — Person · Guest commentator / legal analyst · 2 mentions · first at
    Brought in as an expert voice to assess the unusual procedural posture (mandamus, standing, appellate intervention) and to argue the democratic/historical importance of releasing the report rather than suppressing it.
  • Walt Nauta — Person · Referenced co-defendant · 1 mention · first at
    He is cited as advocating suppression and even incineration of the report/documents, illustrating the episode’s theme of attempted erasure of records.
    Kind of historical accounting. I mean it is on the one hand vital for us to understand and on the other now that Nelta and Deolivera's cases have been dismissed and they are…

Companies & orgs

  • 11th Circuit Court of Appeals — Organization · Referenced appellate authority · 4 mentions · first at
    The court is described as intervening to force action from Judge Eileen Cannon and as the forum that could prevent destruction of the report via extraordinary relief.
    Supposed to make some ruling one way or another regarding the report prepared by special counsel Jack Smith, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had to actually intervene. That's…
  • Department of Justice — Company · Legal authority · 4 mentions · first at
    The DOJ is involved in the case regarding the Mara Lago documents and is accused of colluding with Trump to suppress the release of the special counsel's report.
  • Department of Justice — Organization · Referenced institution (criticized) · 2 mentions · first at
    The DOJ is depicted as abandoning its usual adversarial role and aligning with Trump’s position, allegedly supporting suppression/destruction rather than release with redactions.
    Donald Trump won the election, she refused to make any rulings at all, especially while the DOJ switched over from the Biden DOJ to the Trump DOJ. She took no action. And…
  • First Amendment Institute — Company · Legal advocacy · 2 mentions · first at
    The First Amendment Institute is attempting to intervene in the case to ensure the release of the special counsel's report, representing public interest.
    Judge. We're not opposing what Trump and NA want. Destroy. It's fine. So then this group called the Night First Amendment Institute, they're a group at Columbia University.…
  • Knight First Amendment Institute — Organization · Referenced intervenor / transparency advocate · 2 mentions · first at
    The Institute is described as attempting to intervene to oppose destruction and to preserve the public’s access to the report, including seeking extraordinary appellate attention.
    Judge. We're not opposing what Trump and NA want. Destroy. It's fine. So then this group called the Night First Amendment Institute, they're a group at Columbia University.…
  • Colombia University — Company · Academic institution · 2 mentions · first at
    Columbia University is affiliated with the First Amendment Institute, which is attempting to intervene in the case to prevent the destruction of documents.
    It. That's what the law requires you to do. So here, this group at they do great work, the First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
  • Talking Feds — Organization · Referenced media platform · 2 mentions · first at
    It is Harry Litman’s podcast/YouTube channel, promoted by the host as a place to follow his analysis and subscribe.
    Let's call in Harry Litman from the Talking Feds YouTube channel, Talking Feds podcast, and Talking Feds Substack.
  • Columbia University — Organization · Referenced institutional home · 2 mentions · first at
    It is mentioned as the home institution of the Knight First Amendment Institute, which seeks to intervene to protect public access and transparency.
    It. That's what the law requires you to do. So here, this group at they do great work, the First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Concepts & topics

  • Obstruction of justice — Concept · Core legal concept / alleged conduct · 2 mentions · first at
    The episode frames obstruction as a central part of the Mar-a-Lago case, described as strong evidence and a key reason the report matters for accountability.
    Trump taking highly classified and sensitive information like potentially nuclear secrets and hiding it at Mara Lago and then obstructing justice. That was the criminal case…
  • Historical Accounting — Concept · Core theme / democratic function · 2 mentions · first at
    The speakers argue that, with prosecutions mooted/dismissed, the report is essential for the public record and for preventing future abuses through an honest reckoning.
  • Transparency — Concept · Core value / policy goal · 1 mention · first at
    Transparency is invoked as the democratic imperative for releasing the report (with redactions if needed) so the public can evaluate facts and history.
    Which is supposed to be justice, is the one supposed to say, you know what, these documents by law are required to be released with proper redactions. But here, because the…
  • Totalitarianism — Concept · Normative/political concept used for framing · 1 mention · first at
    Used to characterize alleged efforts to erase records and 'whitewash' history, contrasting democratic transparency with authoritarian control of information.

Places & events

  • 11th Circuit Court of Appeals — Place · Judicial oversight · 4 mentions · first at
    The court is overseeing Judge Eileen Cannon's handling of the Mara Lago documents case and is being petitioned to intervene to prevent the destruction of documents.
  • Mara Lago — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Mara Lago is the location where classified documents were allegedly hidden by Donald Trump, leading to the legal case in question.
    Trump taking highly classified and sensitive information like potentially nuclear secrets and hiding it at Mara Lago and then obstructing justice. That was the criminal case…

Media & podcasts

  • Talking Feds — Media · Media reference · 2 mentions · first at
    Talking Feds is a podcast and YouTube channel referenced in the transcript, known for discussing legal and political matters.
    Let's call in Harry Litman from the Talking Feds YouTube channel, Talking Feds podcast, and Talking Feds Substack.

Full transcript with timestamps

Donald Trump and his stoogge judge Eileen Cannon are being called out before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for trying to destroy volume two of special counsel Jack Smith's report in connection with his criminal prosecutions of Donald Trump. One of course involved Trump's conduct relating to the January 6th insurrection. That's volume one. Volume two relates to Donald Trump taking highly classified and uh sensitive information like potentially nuclear secrets and hiding it at Mara Lago and then obstructing justice. That was the criminal case before Judge Eileen Cannon. You'll recall that she dismissed the case on some frivolous basis saying that the special counsel is unconstitutional. She was the only judge to ever make that type of ruling. And then after Trump won the election, the appeals in that matter were essentially mooded. But the only issue remaining before Judge Cannon that has been

remaining is because all of the files and documents regarding the Mara Lago document case were before her. She just needs to basically issue a release of the documents, specifically special counsel Jack Smith's report volume two, which lays out the special counsel's findings regarding the crimes that Donald Trump was being prosecuted for. But you see, what Judge Cannon did for over a year was do nothing. Uh after Donald Trump won the election, she refused to make any rulings at all, especially while the DOJ switched over from the Biden DOJ to the Trump DOJ. She took no action. And because she took so long to do anything where she was supposed to make some ruling one way or another regarding the uh report prepared by special counsel Jack Smith, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had to actually intervene. That's the circuit court that oversees the Southern District of Florida court. Uh Canon's in the Fort

Pierce division. And they said, "Cannon, you've got to make a ruling one way or another regarding this report so it can come back to us and we can decide what happens with the report." In any circumstance, this report should be released. This isn't a controversial topic. You know, special counsel reports are released. If there's highly classified information in the report that that gets redacted. We know all about redactions right now. But then that should be released to the uh public. And so after the 11th Circuit made that ruling, Judge Eileen Cannon set an elongated briefing schedule to try to delay even more and push this into like January and February of 2026.

And then so what happened was Donald Trump in his private capacity said these documents that that from come from Jack Smith they should be destroyed. And then Walt Na the other defender remember Nouta was involved in that one. He said not only should the documents be suppressed they need Jacksmith's report and all of the documents they need to be burned. They need to be incinerated. I kid you not. They said destroy order that it be destroyed. And then the Department of Justice, which is supposed to be justice, is the one supposed to say, you know what, these documents by law are required to be released with proper redactions. But here, because the DOJ, as you now know, has no credibility at all, and it's just an arm of Trump's fascism, they basically said, "We agree. We basically join." Right? The DOJ is supposed to be on one side of the V and the criminal dependent on the other. They're like,

"No, no, we agree. Do whatever you want, judge. We're not opposing what Trump and NA want. Destroy. It's fine. So then this group called the Night First Amendment Institute, they're a group at Columbia University. They then tried to intervene representing the public before Judge Eileen Cannon. and they did a petition saying, "Look, judge, if you're going to adjudicate this and you rule in favor of Trump and the DOJ to destroy this, there hasn't been any opposition because Trump and the DOJ are now both the bad guys. So there needs to be some OP just stay the destruction of the documents in the report. So at least the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals can weigh in because even though the 11th Circuit tends to skew more conservative, more rightle leaning, nobody would say destroy these records. But what happens if the district court orders the immediate burning and destruction? The DOJ has it. So imagine you have canon

issue cannon issues an order and immediately the DOJ is ready to hit delete they destroy it and then when the 11th circuit finally says actually we want to intervene here then the DOJ says ah it's moot we just followed the judge's order and we hit destroy right away so this is an extraordinary petition you know where as a law professor this intrigues me you know and as someone who cares about our country and transparency. It's critical. But you don't see things like this ever filed. So when I'm looking at it, I'm like, "Oh, this is an interesting argument."

Because this never had to be done. Normally the DOJ would be the one saying, "Release it. Of course, release it. That's what the law requires you to do." So here, this group at they do great work, the First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. They've said, "Look, we reached out to Judge Cannon. She's ignoring our petition to intervene. So we haven't got a ruling there. She's doing the cannon and we're really worried that what's about to happen 11 circuit is she's going to make this order, destroy the records, destroy the documents. And so we we want to put this on your radar.

And I think what they want to do via this mandamus process, which again is extraordinary, and there's like not a lot of precedent for even doing something like this. But I think what they want to at least put on the 11 circuits radar is for them even suanti meaning on their own initiative take the extraordinary relief and just say something like even though you may not have standing right now hey judge cannon don't destroy no we it's it's our understanding that any destruction would be illegal like get the 11 circuit to do something here put it on their radar and hope they say something because it's a tough argument to appeal something where your petition has not been ruled on yet because what's the basis of of of appellet jurisdiction when the underlying judge hasn't hasn't yet ruled. But here they're saying Judge Cannon's doing this intentionally as part of a scheme with Trump and that's

why you were involved before 11th Circuit. Do something. Do something. Harry, this is quite extraordinary. Let's call in Harry Litman from the Talking Feds YouTube channel, Talking Feds podcast, and Talking Feds Substack. Right, Harry. This is, you know, an extraordinary thing and I think it's the right move. I think we can debate whether they have standing to make this appeal. Um, and that's a but the 11 circuit, hello 11 circuit, you got to do something here. Look, the whole thing is a farce and it's part of the farces that they mount every day because as you say, the the V point that you raised, Ben, is the big one. The whole this is constitutional. You have to have the whole way that our uh judicial system works is adversaries uh go on either side of an argument and make it concrete and make it precise and do their best so a court can rule. This is just like the Trump supposed lawsuit

for 230 million or 40 billion. Why not? Because of the prosecutions he had before. Just like the Steve Bannon complete uh complete whitewash where they're getting rid of that case. What is presented to a court as DOJ or United States v canon blank is not that at all. They are colluding. They're both saying the same thing. And the point you're making would be the same on appeal if she actually You're totally right and I'll come back to it in a moment. But she sits on her douff for over a year with no justification at all. But if and when she actually rules for now and Trump whom she has permitted to intervene even if she hasn't done that for the night institute then what they get it wrong there's nobody who will file the notice of appeal to the 11th circuit. So we can talk in very intricate legal terms about whether as you say the extraordinary um recourse to a rid of mandamus is the right way to go and will there be

standing or not but I think the 11th circuit is quite aware of what's going on. One of the things that make this interesting when she was really not just botching it, throwing the case in every which way, there was a lot of pretty good behind the scenes sort of um reporting that the 11th circuit found her to be an embarrassment. We know the chief judge of her district found her to be told her don't take don't take this Mara Lago case and she did it anyway because she is she's in on the game. She's the uh her the only thing she thinks about is Donald Trump and what that could avail her and God knows uh that's you know everybody else in within the judicial system for her lifetime will now I think h has permanently lost um respect for her. But now back to what she did. She just lets it go for a year.

And at that point when she's forced to say something, she said, "Okay, now I'll consider what to do." And she invites Trump to intervene, which he does. And remember what we are talking about first. The strongest, everybody agrees. This is a case that was pretty much open and shut against uh Trump, not only for just prolining all the documents, but the obstruction case was overwhelming and uh the you know they had it on video and he you know he so plainly uh violated both obstruction rules and rules about prolining of national security documents which remember what his defense was basically. I can do whatever I want. I can declassify magically in my head while sleeping or I can just um you know no nobody's permitted. He was going to lose that case. Now it all goes away. But what is left? What is left for the democracy to try to reckon with what happened and try to prevent things in the future? Some

kind of historical accounting. I mean it is on the one hand vital for us to understand and on the other now that Nelta and Deolivera's cases have been dismissed and they are final what's on their side that they should say um smother this and shredded from the from the view of history forever. Basically nothing. They're not, you know, there's no whatever is going to come out in Smith's report, well, for one, will be truthful, but for two, the the national interest is so much stronger here. But a judge who thinks I'm here to do one thing only and that is um follow Donald Trump's interest could exactly as you say now that there's a collusive case basically where DOJ and uh NA de Vera and Trump as intervenor are all on the same side. She's got in her hands the ability to issue an order that then doesn't get contested. So the 11th Circuit could be kind of hard asses about this and could say here are the

narrow circumstances in which the rid of mandamus can be satisfied. But I think they are on to canon, long since on to canon and the public consequences that really go way beyond this case, but to the actual ability for the democracy to have an honest accounting of a whole uh part of the two cases against him. Remember when Smith testifies uh the DOJ says, "You can't talk about this other one, but we won't tell you what you can't say." you know, it's it's an outrage sort of, you know, two or three times over the initial one because of the injustice of of dismissing it, but now not even the pale second uh uh ability to to have a historical account of what occurred.

That's again, that's like Orwellian totalitarian stuff. and she's just the person to uh try to make that happen. So, Lemon Circa, we should we should follow it closely. Even if it's not completely kosher, uh they may find a way and I think at least they can issue some kind of statement saying Eileen Canon, don't just do this until we say it's okay. And even that would be a big deal cuz exactly as you say they're perfectly capable of colluding and so ordered and now it's all deleted. Sorry judge. Sorry country. Sorry history.

That that's what they could be going at without some grownup judicial supervision. Right. I mean Harry while they go on Fox which I call state regime media and say the report would vindicate us. It's all a lie and here's the truth. You know, that to me is the biggest tell. And it's like, duh. But when I when I try to tell people, I don't care if you're Democrat, Republican, independent, whatever. It's the same thing kind of with the Epstein files, it's like why are there these redactions? Why are they hiding it? Why are they going through this process? Set aside your political views. Who wants to get the information out? Who wants to hide the information? And then it's the same thing over here. They're willing to go on Fox. So, if you're willing to go on Fox, then guess what? release the report. If you think that there are defects in it, go and legally defend it and you can go through it line by line

and you can say, "Look, Jack Smith got it wrong here or Jack Smith got it right here." That's just what we do in our system. That's the way I studied in law school. You studied in law school, not because I wanted to go on and be a great Democrat or an independent because that's what we do. We read documents and we get information. And this is why this this is why this is why I made this my life's mission to expose this stuff because this is crap. It's just not just crap.

And power to you, Ben, that you have and you know the mightest mighty unbelievable army of fighting every day. But it's it's even bigger than that. Yes, you do documents. Yes, you made arguments. This is the stuff of history. It's a concerted effort literally to whitewash the history books as you have in totalitarian regimes that just present false accounts state sanctioned that is so kind of down the middle or a cornerstone of what it means to live in a democracy. Why we have a first amendment. If just as you say, you've got something to actually counter. Well, take it to the court of history, which is the only court again because of the uh happen stance of the election. Uh the only court that this is going to be adjudicated in. But man, the difference between that court and nothing whatsoever, that's just the difference between a, you know, hanging on by its fingernails democracy and a totalitarian

regime. Make sure everybody hits subscribe to our YouTube channel, but most importantly, subscribe to Harry Litman's YouTube channel. Search Talking Feds now. Make sure you subscribe to Harry's channel. Harry, always great to see you.

Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ben. See you. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our Substack at midasplus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filicowski, ad free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at midasplus.com.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!"?

Ben (Guest), Harry Litman (Guest).

What is "🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!" about?

Judge Eileen Cannon is facing scrutiny from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for her attempts to suppress volume two of special counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and subsequent obstruction of justice. Despite her extended inaction after Trump’s election victory, the appeals court has now mandated that she make a ruling to advance the legal…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

20 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Judge Aileen Cannon, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Jack Smith, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Department of Justice. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "🚨Judge Cannon CAUGHT Trying to DELETE FILES for Donald !!"?

The episode runs 17 min; the transcript is about 2,703 words in 20 timestamped sections.

More from MeidasTouch

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 15, 2026.