Before indicting Donald Trump last year for allegedly mishandling classified documents, federal prosecutors had to decide where to bring the charges: Washington, DC, or Florida.
Ultimately, they charged the former president in Florida, a decision that has proven to be a fateful one — underscored by the vastly different approaches taken by DC judges as compared to the federal judge now presiding over the criminal case in Florida.
Those approaches became apparent in the past week as opinions were unsealed from two DC federal judges indicating how much more quickly and harshly for Trump the case might have played out had it remained in Washington.
Bradley Moss, a DC-based lawyer with extensive national security experience, said that the ruling from Howell provided Cannon a “clear road map” to consider the attorney-client privilege issues.
But Cannon hasn’t even scheduled a hearing on the topic, which the parties began arguing over in court papers in February.
“That she continues to sit on the matter is inexcusable,” Moss said.
Yes, that’s another good point. They played the odds.
I don’t know if they factored it as “1 in 18 chance we get delayed until election” or thought Cannon would maintain some semblance of objectivity even if they got her, but it probably helped reassure them to roll the dice in Florida.