I just have time today to point to some links. Do read Philip Bump, Why did Trump want Judge Cannon for his Mar-a-Lago challenge? You should be able to read it without bumping into a paywall.
And Philip Bump again, In praise of iron fists: Trump leans into his authoritarian instincts.
Here’s a Twitter thread by Neal Katyal about how screwed up the special master decision is.
At The Atlantic, see Andrew Weissmann, A Ruling Untethered to the Law.
And Greg Sargent, A longtime conservative insider warns: The GOP can’t be saved. This is an interview with Bill Kristol, of all people.
In the BT Era (Before Trump), I never found myself in agreement with Bill "Kill 'Em All" Kristol.
On anything. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Notta. On nothin'!
Now, having finished reading the interview with him, it worries me that he agrees with me.
One of us has always been right, and the other, wrong.
But to tell the truth, in the times I wasn't 100% sure what my opinion is, I'd go and read me some Kristol, and know that the path towards any righteousness and justice in this universe will be found 180° from whatever Kristol's opinion was.
Bill Kristol is the 21st Century's Col. Klink from "Hogan's Heroes."
I've read some alarmist evaluations of the impact of the appointment of a special master. Maybe. But I do not think the sky is falling. I do not think a special master can arbitrarily grant executive privilege status to Top Secret documents and exempt them from being cited as evidence of a violation of the espionage act. That's what would have to happen to undercut the prosecution's case.
Having been through the federal system, this is not Trump's turn at bat. The DOJ gets to investigate, then put the case before a Grand Jury, and THEN there can be an indictment. The process with this twisted judge will slow things down and create the smoke screen of irrelevant side issues But when the dust settles, I see no way (after an appeal if necessary) that the misappropriated property of the National Archives won't be presented (in a sealed format) as evidence of a violation of the Espionage Act. If the closed circuit video within Mar A Lago shows a deliberate shell game with classified docs, there's obstruction.
The lawyer who signed the document that there were no classified documents left needs to be charged first and she can decide if she wants to go it alone or turn state's evidence and tell what happened. BTW, the special master and this judge don't have access to the identity of witnesses to obstruction. (And that leaves others vulnerable to charges of conspiracy and opens the door to others testifying.)
The longer this runs on, the better it is for Democrats.
Also check out Marcy Wheeler's deep dive into Cannon's order. She is basically taking that nonsense document apart piece by piece to show what a partisan move it is and how the reasoning is entirely designed to give trump what he wants, the law be damned.
EmptyWheel