Trump-appointed judge whose past Mar-a-Lago rulings sparked criticism is initially assigned to federal case

The federal case against Trump has been initially assigned to a judge he appointed who faced criticism over her decision to grant the former president’s request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of his Florida estate.

A person familiar with the matter says the case has been assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020 and sits in Fort Pierce.

WATCH: Trump indicted on federal charges in classified documents investigation

The move seems a rare bit of good news for Trump, at least given rulings last year that Cannon issued in his favor and in opposition to the Justice Department.

Cannon’s profile was thrust into the spotlight when she issued what many legal experts saw as an extraordinary decision to approve a so-called special master to review the documents seized by the FBI.

Some experts said the judge gave undue deference to the former president and put a hold on some Justice Department investigative work unnecessarily.

As part of that case, Cannon temporarily barred federal agents and prosecutors from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during the search.

READ: The judge’s full ruling for special master to review Trump documents

Her order was ultimately thrown out by a federal appeals court, which found she overstepped. The federal appeals court ended the independent review of documents.

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