It’s what the judge in the Trump special master case DIDN’T do that’s such a big win for the DOJ
When Donald Trump went running to the wrong federal judge the other day with a bizarrely late request for a special master in the DOJ’s criminal probe into the classified documents he stole, there was no real chance that it would provide him any substantial benefit. If the judge ruled anywhere within the law, it wouldn’t help Trump at all. And if the judge ruled far enough outside of the law so as to help Trump with his meritless claim, it would be quickly overruled on appeal anyway.
Now, interestingly enough, we’re staring at a third possibility, where the judge just… doesn’t rule? During her Thursday hearing, the judge blocked internet access for reporters in the courtroom, seemingly in an attempt at ensuring that the hearing generated as few headlines as possible. From the start this judge has come off as wishing that Trump had never dragged her into it to begin with. And while the judge did vaguely suggest during the hearing that she might be inclined to side with him on his special master request, she ended up saying that her ruling would come at a later unspecified date. In other words, it wasn’t actually a win for Trump.
More to the point, the judge didn’t say or do anything during the hearing to prevent the DOJ from continuing to work with the evidence it seized from Trump’s home. In other words, in the day and a half since the hearing, the DOJ has continued right on with building its indictment against Trump, with no delay from the judge.
The kicker is that, even as the judge publicly released a more detailed DOJ inventory earlier today which revealed that the Feds found dozens of empty classified document folders in Trump’s home, the judge still hasn’t said or done anything to preclude or even slow down the DOJ’s ongoing case-building against Trump.
It’s still theoretically possible that the judge will hand down some kind asinine ruling tomorrow morning, or Monday morning, that will force the DOJ to go have an appeals judge quickly overrule it. But as of now, the judge handling Trump’s special master request has simply… not ruled on it.
Given that the judge didn’t actually tell the DOJ to stop doing anything while her ruling is pending, her ongoing lack of a ruling is a de facto ruling for the DOJ. And perhaps that’s the entire point. This judge said some things in the hearing that Trump vaguely wanted to hear, so he’s not publicly attacking her. And if the overall legal process moves on without this judge bothering to rule at all, it might allow her to get out of the DOJ’s way without making herself a Trump target. The judge shouldn’t be a judge if she’s unwilling to simply rule in accordance with the law. But if this is what gets the job done, then so be it.
