Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, three Republican-appointed judges of the 11th Circuit completed their review of the very-Trump-friendly ruling from Judge Aileen Cannon, which granted the former president several boons, including the appointment of a special master. And in their ruling, the three judges—William H. Pryor Jr. (Bush II), Britt Grant (Trump) and Andrew L. Brasher (Trump)—unanimously decreed that Cannon was wrong, wrong, wrong.
There's really no nuance here. The judges found that a special master should never have been appointed, and ordered that process be halted immediately. They also instructed Cannon to vacate her entire ruling. There are a number of choice passages in the ruling, including this:
It is indeed extraordinary for a warrant to be executed at the home of a former president—but not in a way that affects our legal analysis or otherwise gives the judiciary license to interfere in an ongoing investigation... To create a special exception here would defy our Nation's foundational principle that our law applies "to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank."
It is not common for a district judge to be rebuked this harshly, but Cannon pretty much asked for it. The judges stayed their ruling for seven days, in case Trump decides to appeal. Since his goal is to waste time, he presumably will, but he's not going to get anywhere. At best, he'll buy himself a few more weeks and a few more irritated judges.
Meanwhile, the adverse-to-Trump legal news isn't likely to stop anytime soon. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told CNN that the 1/6 Select Committee is going to release its final report sometime this month, while Democrats still control the House. And former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki, who is undoubtedly still pretty dialed-in, told MSNBC that a friend in the Department of Justice told her that AG Merrick Garland is "a quiet storm" who is building a Jan. 6 case against Trump. Undoubtedly, once that storm is unleashed, even a black Sharpie pen won't be enough to change its course. (Z)