Fwiw, SDNY has been called the 'Sovereign District of NY'

[bigtree]

...because of it's determined independence from Washington.

Joyce Alene @JoyceWhiteVance Jul 20, 2017
US Attys in Manhattan, often referred to by insiders as the Sovereign District of NY, instead of Southern, have a tradition of independence

I see that there are more than a few pundits today blaming Merrick Garland for the discovery problems causing the hush-money trial delay. But DA Bragg cited SDNY as responsible for the release of documents, and blamed the "defendant's delay" for the timing of the release writing, "the timing of the USAO's productions is the result solely of the defendant's delay."

That prosecutors office prides itself on it's separation from D.C., whether deserved or not, and it's not very likely the AG had anything to do with their production of documents, and more likely that it's SDNY running interference for Trump again.

Adam Klasfeld @KlasfeldReports
There's no indication that this went to the AG.

The DA's filing referred to the U.S. Attorney's office in particular, not the Department of Justice generally, which indicates this was the call of "Sovereign District" SDNY — not a place generally known for taking cues from DC.

...remember, it was SDNY who had initially requested that Cy Vance 'stand down' on the hush-money case.

Inside with Jen Psaki @InsideWithPsaki Apr 2, 2023
“We learned from the Southern District of New York that they asked us to stand down... they wished that we put our efforts on hold.”

Fmr. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance to @jrpsaki on SDNY's request to pause their investigation of Donald Trump & the hush money to Stormy Daniels

[Scrivener7]

1. .

[bigtree]

2. ..

Mueller, She Wrote @MuellerSheWrote
ANDREW WEISSMANN: The one thing that I don't think happened is that I don't think Main Justice was involved. US Attorneys Offices, especially the SDNY, just decide this on their own. Was Merrick Garland part of this? I have my issues, but I don't this would jump to him.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. This case, singularly, involved the alleged criminal acts of a former US President.

The boss should have been paying attention.

. . . . just sayin' . . . .

[bigtree]

4. otoh, this case cries out for a hands-off approach

from the Justice Dept. that's prosecuting Trump, and the AG hired the defendant's rival.

It's unusual, and it would be regarded as untoward. The mantra now is that these state prosecutions have nothing to do with DOJ, and ostensibly, nothing to do with the Biden administration.

I don't see how the AG would justify looking over their shoulder, much less putting his hand into state prosecutions.

But the point is that every district court regards themselves as self-governing, unless they do something overtly wrong that requires that oversight, and discovery requests don't come anywhere near the AG's normal duties.

As important as this case is, there are fundamental reasons why the AG doesn't involve themselves in the normal processes of discovery in state prosecutions. They have their own laws and legal requirements which don't have anything to do with how D.C. approaches their own prosecutions.

There is oversight, but it should be understandable that the DOJ isn't micromanaging any state prosecution. Not involving themselves in states' discovery processes would seem to be the least amount of autonomy we should expect them to respect.

[tritsofme]

5. The obsession some people have with Garland is disturbing and seems quite unhealthy.

[orleans]

6. so who fucked up? who let this happen? who wanted to buy trump more time to

run out his clock?