Judge Bruce Reinhart, who on August 5 signed off on an unprecedented search warrant for the Mar-a-Lago home of former President Donald Trump, was appointed by a gaggle of left-wing judges.
Federal District Court judges, in this case judges in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, appoint magistrate judges who handle tasks assigned to them by the District Court judges.
“Magistrate judges are judicial officers of the U.S. district court appointed by the district judges of the court to handle a variety of judicial proceedings,” according to the United States Courts website.
“They have authority to issue warrants, conduct preliminary proceedings in criminal cases, such as initial appearances and arraignments, and hear cases involving petty offenses committed on federal lands,” the website says. “In most districts, magistrate judges handle pretrial motions and hearings in civil and criminal cases. While most civil cases are tried by district judges, magistrate judges may also preside over civil trials if all parties consent.”
Reinhart is one of those magistrates. He was appointed to an eight-year term in 2018.
At that time, the court was dominated by judges who were appointed either by former President Barack Obama or former President Bill Clinton. In fact, seven out of 11 judges who served on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 2018, at the time Reinhart was appointed, were themselves appointed by the Democrat presidents.
Those judges are:
- Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks – appointed by Clinton
- Judge William P. Dimitrouleas – appointed by Clinton
- Judge Kathleen M. Williams – appointed by Obama
- Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. – appointed by Obama
- Judge Darrin P. Gayles – appointed by Obama
- Judge Beth Bloom – appointed by Obama
- Judge Robin L. Rosenberg – appointed by Obama
In 2019 and 2020, Trump appointed five judges to the court, but that was after Reinhart was appointed to his magistrate role by the Democrat-dominated bench.
Reinhart has a long history of Democrat activism, including donating to Obama and controversially defending associates of Jeffrey Epstein, who in 2007 stood trial for alleged sex trafficking.
He defended Epstein just after leaving his post at the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a U.S. attorney, and allegedly had insider information about the government’s case against Epstein.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building” by Cielbie. CC BY-SA 3.0.
