Controversial Judge Who Threw Out Trump's Classified Docs Case Is Now on His Shortlist for Attorney General: Report

One of Donald Trump’s top candidates for attorney general is U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was slammed by legal scholars for slow-walking the former president's classified documents case before throwing it out altogether this summer.

The relatively new Florida judge was among the names on a proposed roster listing potential staffers for the White House counsel's office, ABC News reported. Titled “Transition Planning: Legal Principals,” the roster was drafted by the presidential candidate’s top advisers, and included input from his legal team head, Boris Epshteyn.

According to the outlet, Cannon — who was appointed to her role by Trump in the final months of his presidency — is not first in line for the law enforcement position. She appears second after Jay Clayton, who was the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman while Trump, 78, was in the White House, according to ABC.

Cannon previously made headlines, and came under the scrutiny of fellow legal professionals, in July after she ruled that Trump’s federal classified documents trial would be dismissed because she believed special counsel Jack Smith's "appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution."

The federal classified documents case against the former president centered on how he handled top-secret documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office, and saw him facing 40 felony counts — including a violation of the Espionage Act. 

In her filing, Cannon, who had previously faced accusations of being biased toward Trump, offered a criticism of how the executive branch handled the case, particularly the appointment of a special counsel.

Nancy Gertner — a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School and retired federal district court judge appointed by Former President Bill Clinton — was among the legal scholars who blasted the move, telling ProPublica that, given other rulings from Cannon that favored Trump and his attorneys, the dismissal was "clearly bias."

Prior to the widely criticized July dismissal, Cannon also came under fire for her unusual treatment of the criminal case, which included delays and inviting outside groups to weigh in. At the time, Gertner told The Hill that Cannon’s handling of the high-profile case was "clearly in Trump’s interest."

"There’s nothing — nothing — about the way she has handled the case that is normal, that is usual, and that makes a degree of sense — except that she’s just so inexperienced or second, that she’s just not confident, or third, that she is so biased to Trump," she told The Hill in June.

"By not setting a trial date, by not deciding motions, she is simply slow-walking the case," Gertner added, "and that is clearly in Trump’s interest."

Cannon’s controversial move to dismiss, which was quickly appealed by the Justice Department, also inspired legal action.

Months after Cannon tossed the charges, a public interest group argued in a filing that her decision should be reversed and she should be removed from the case altogether in order to "preserve the appearance of justice," ProPublica reported.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and other legal experts in September, the brief claims that the judge’s controversial decision "hinged on ignoring the plain text of four federal statutes," the outlet reported. 

The filing also alleged that Cannon dismissed "a landmark Supreme Court opinion confirming the Attorney General’s power to appoint a Special Counsel," and was the culmination of her "many efforts to undermine and derail the prosecution of this case."