Judge Reinhart has Trump’s number
Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart has Donald Trump’s number. He granted the DOJ’s motion for protective order, specifically preventing Trump from having access to discovery materials produced by the DOJ. That makes sense, given how Trump stole military secrets and shared them with people in his quest to be important. He would likely do the same with any documents relating to his criminal investigation. He is being treated like the impetuous child he is.
In his four-page ruling, Judge Reinhart specifically deferred to the DOJ with respect to evidence that relates in any way and “at any stage” of the case from which the 37-count indictment originated. He further said that any discovery shared with the defense is to be used “in connection with the defense of this case, and for no other purpose, and in connection with no other proceeding.” Under Judge Reinhart’s order, Trump can only review evidence under the supervision of his attorneys. That evidence must be kept under the control and supervision of Trump’s attorneys and must be securely stored “on premises controlled by them.” So much for Trump leaking anything on his Truth Social site. Even if he sees it, it is doubtful he will remember it verbatim, though that has never stopped Trump from just making up things.
As a result of Judge Reinhart’s order, Trump won’t be able to keep any “trophies” from his criminal trial, which John Bolton reported Trump enjoyed doing while in the White House. Bolton appeared on “Inside with Jen Psaki” and said he is “pretty confident” that Trump mishandled classified documents. While a part of Trump’s team, Bolton said that Trump displayed a “pattern” of keeping things from intelligence briefings and other meetings. “It became the practice just to make sure that we got them back in as many cases as we could.” Bolton said that he could never fathom a reason other than “it made him feel good to be able to do it.” Not only has Bolton witnessed this behavior, but we’re now also privy.
It is telling that Judge Reinhart included specifically in his order that discovery materials “shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media or disseminated on any news or social media platform” (emphasis added). Trump airing his grievances on his social media platform is no secret to anyone, and Judge Reinhart has circumvented him using anything related to this investigation and trial in such a way. Of course, Trump is used to doing whatever he likes, but in this instance, if he violates this order, he could be held in contempt and slapped with sanctions.
Even though everyone is carrying on about Judge Aileen Cannon overseeing this case, it is Judge Reinhart who is overseeing it at this point, and he has a penchant for siding with the law, as he did when he signed the FBI’s warrant to retrieve documents in the first place. By the time the case gets to Cannon, she’ll be listening like the jury, and Judge Reinhart will have dealt with any nonsense from Trump’s attorneys up front.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years