Much was being made of Monday’s announcement that Judge Aileen Cannon had set August 14 as the trial date for U.S. v. Trump, the case involving the former guy’s violation of the Espionage Act and associated obstruction of justice when asked to return national security secrets in his possession. The pundit-sphere focused on whether such a speedy timetable was realistic considering the number of pre-trial motions the Trump defense will likely file.

What might be more consequential was Cannon’s decision to hold the trial in the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida.  Most reports noted the facility was more convenient for Cannon who lives in Vero Beach.  Googling the question, “Does holding the Trump trial in Fort make a difference?” produced 3.5 million results.  However, only one was relevant to the question, an article by Palm Beach Post reporter Antonio Fins, “Trump trial: Does move to Fort Pierce make jury ‘favorable’ to former president?”

Remember, special counsel Jack Smith filed the indictment in the Southern District of Florida, in accordance with federal guidelines that require a case be tried in the jurisdiction where the alleged crimes occurred.  Unless Judge Cannon expects tropical storm Brett will strengthen to a Category 5 hurricane and push Mar-a-Lago 67.9 miles up the Atlantic coast, shouldn’t the same standard apply to a trial venue?

It does not require a caliper and scale to measure the difference in the size and weight of Her Honor’s thumb and that of a less biased judicial authority.  Fins provides the data which more than explains Cannon’s ruling.  If the trial were in Palm Beach County, the jury pool would be drawn from the one million plus registered voters of which over 765,000 who voted in the 2020 presidential election supported President Joe Biden by a margin of 55.97 percent to 43.21 percent.

To ensure a sufficient population from which to select a jury for trials in Cannon’s announced venue, the pool consists of registered voters in St. Lucie County (in which Fort Pierce is the county seat) and four other adjacent counties–Martin, Indian River, Highlands and Okeechobee.  Fins’ reporting includes the 2020 election results from these five jurisdictions.

• Trump won Highlands County with 66.8 percent of the vote.
• Trump won Indian River County with 60.4 percent of the vote.
• Trump won Martin County with 62 percent of the vote.
• Trump won Okeechobee County with 71.9 percent of the vote.
• Although St. Lucie is considered a swing county, Trump carried it with 50.4 percent of the vote.

We know what the GOP response would have been if Jack Smith had bent the rules and filed the indictment in the District of Columbia.  Just to be sure I Googled, “Republicans praise Jack Smith for filling indictment in Florida vs Washington, D.C.”  Google’s response?  “It looks like there aren’t many great matches for your search.”  Duh!

What was good for the gander (Jack Smith) should be equally good for the goose (Judge Cannon).  The remaining question is whether Smith has enough evidence, provided in the indictment or still to be seen, that it would not matter if Cannon had moved the trial from Palm Beach County to the Kremlin.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP