Partisan Reinhart should have recused himself.
Bruce Reinhart, the U.S. Magistrate Judge who signed the warrant authorizing the reprehensible FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home, is far from a neutral party in these contemptible proceedings. He was not, however, appointed to his post by President Trump, as is being reported.
Although Reinhart was sworn in as United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida on March 14, 2018, while Trump was president, Trump had no oversight in his appointment. Unlike U.S. district judges, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate for lifetime tenure, magistrate judges are appointed by a majority vote of the federal district judges of a particular district and serve limited terms. Reinhart is tenth in the line of seniority and the only magistrate on this list lacking a link.
Hardly a disinterested citizen, political partisan Reinhart donated thousands of dollars to former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and his victory fund in 2008. He also donated to political opponents of Donald Trump during the 2016 election, including $500 to Jeb Bush.
In one of Reinhart’s online posts, he praised former congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis by quoting Robert Reich who said, “Donald Trump doesn’t have the moral stature to kiss John Lewis’s feet.”
Reinhart also betrayed his disdain for Trump by revealing that he tried to ‘ignore’ the then president elect’s tweets.
President Trump’s statement can be read here.
Bruce Reinhart defended Lois Lerner who deleted two years of emails during the IRS scandal that resulted in her resignation. Lerner, an IRS honcho, purposely targeted conservative groups challenging their applications for tax exempt status.