The
Department
of
Justice
has
come
up
with
a
fairly
unique
litigation
strategy
in
the
paper-thin
case
against
New
York
Attorney
General
Letitia
James:
antagonize
the
judge
overseeing
the
case.
I
know,
BOLD!
U.S.
District
Judge
Jamar
Walker
ordered
the
government
to
provide
discovery
to
James’s
legal
team
related
to
their
vindictive/selective
prosecution
argument.
But
instead
of
getting
their
documents
in
order,
the
DOJ
went
all
Bartleby,
the
Scrivener,
saying
they
prefer
not
to.
Yesterday,
the
government
filed
“Notice
Of
Reasons
For
Not
Providing
Pre-Vindictive/Selective
Prosecution
Motion
Related
Discovery.”
Which
was
just
a
fancy
way
of
saying
the
DOJ
was
going
to
go
all
Eric
Cartman
and
do
what
they
want
and
ignore
the
judge.
The
filing,
signed
by
Roger
Keller
Jr.,
brought
in
from
the
Missouri
office
to
give
an
assist
to
the
woefully
inexperienced
interim
U.S.
Attorney Lindsey
Halligan,
is
a
wild
romp
(for
a
court
document)
that
attempts
to
impose
the
government’s
will
on
the
court.
“In
the
October
24,
2025,
proceeding,
the
Court
instructed
the
United
States
of
America
(the
Government)
to
provide
Defendant
with
vindictive/selective
prosecution-related
discovery
before
she
filed
any
such
motion.
The
Court’s
instruction
is
premature
as
the
Government
bears
no
such
obligation
until
a
defendant
‘overcomes
a
significant
barrier
by
advancing
objective
evidence
tending
to
show
the
existence
of
prosecutorial
misconduct.
This
standard
is
a
‘rigorous’
one.’”And
there’s
more!
Keller
continues
that
the
law
“does
not
‘allow[
]
a
defendant
to
have
discovery
on
the
government’s
prosecutorial
decisions
[until]
the
defendant
…
overcome[s]
a
significant
barrier
by
advancing
objective
evidence
tending
to
show
the
existence
of
prosecutorial
misconduct.”
“The
Order
to
produce
vindictive/selective
prosecution-related
discovery
before
Defendant
filed
her
motion
relieved
her
of
her
obligation
to
overcome
the
prosecution’s
presumptive
lawfulness
with
‘evidence
tending
to
show
the
existence
of
prosecutorial
misconduct,’”
the
filing
reads.
“The
Government
is
not
required
to
produce
vindictive/[selective]
prosecution-related
discovery
until
Defendant
overcomes
the
presumption
of
the
prosecution’s
lawfulness.”
What
an
absolutely
insane
thing
to
read
in
a
DOJ
filing!
No
motion
to
reconsider
the
court’s
order,
just
a
bold
proclamation
—
nah,
we’re
not
doing
that.
What
a
thoroughly
odd
response.
Don’t
believe
me?
Well,
let’s
check
in
with
a
conservative
legal
commentator.
When
the
far-right
legal
strategy
is
so
far
afield
you
have
Ed
Whelan
—
the
man
who
will
gladly
pedal
conspiracy
theories
for
the
cause
—
balking,
methinks
you’ve
gone
too
far.
Judge
Walker
certainly
thinks
so.
“The
Court
has
received
the
government’s
filing
regarding
discovery
on
the
issue
of
vindictive
and/or
selective
prosecution.
The
Order
on
the
parties’
jointly
recommended
discovery
plan
governs
discovery
in
this
case,”
the
judge
said.
“To
the
extent
any
discovery
dispute
arises,
the
parties
may
address
it
in
a
motion.”
Looks
like
he’ll
be
keeping
a
pretty
tight
leash
on
the
parties.
Read
the
full
filing
below.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
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