So today we witnessed the next chapter in the spectacle of the DOJ’s ongoing efforts to “Get Trump” by whatever means necessary. This is all unfolding in Miami, where the former President is facing more than three dozen charges allegedly related to classified documents that he kept in Mar-A-Lago after leaving office. But one element of the initial hearing was changed at the last minute. The media had been throwing fits that the random selection of the judge in the trial went to Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. So at first glance, it seemed a bit odd that the arraignment hearing was turned over to Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman. The Miami Herald went out of its way to describe Goodman as “well regarded,” also making reference to his “legal wisdom” and “wry humor in the courtroom.”

A magistrate judge will be presiding over the momentous Miami federal court hearing on Tuesday afternoon when former President Donald Trump makes his first appearance on charges of keeping classified documents at his Palm Beach estate and obstructing government efforts to reclaim them. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman — not U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was randomly assigned Trump’s case — will be handling the former president’s arraignment and bond matters. Cannon, who had been widely reported to be handling those duties, will still remain on the historic case as the lead judge.

Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman — not U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was randomly assigned Trump’s case — will be handling the former president’s arraignment and bond matters.

Cannon, who had been widely reported to be handling those duties, will still remain on the historic case as the lead judge.

This switch probably isn’t as sinister as some might suspect. A magistrate judge is actually a licensed attorney appointed by the courts to handle lower-level matters. Legal experts note that magistrate judges are regularly assigned tasks such as initial appearances and arraignments, as well as pretrial motions. This frees up the lead judge for other duties. Goodman was the “on-call” magistrate this week, so he was handed the assignment.

Still, it had initially been reported that Cannon would be handling the entire matter. Even if this sort of thing does happen on a regular basis, given the high-profile nature of the case and the massive amount of media attention it’s already receiving, you might have thought that the lead judge would take charge.

In some ways, having Judge Cannon randomly selected for this case could work out to the legacy media’s benefit. Each day since the selection was announced, CNN has been running segments highlighting the fact that she was appointed by Trump and criticizing her for a previous case where they didn’t care for the outcome. If the case winds up being dismissed or Trump prevails in the end, the press will no doubt claim that the fix was in and Cannon threw it in his favor.

The DOJ has been rushing this case forward from the beginning. That’s out of character for this type of trial also. How many more changes can they inject into the process before the end? Presumably, they are trying to keep Trump’s legal team off guard.

The whole affair is already turning into a circus. Prior to Trump’s arrival, a crowd of hundreds of his supporters showed up outside the Federal Courthouse in Miami. Many were dressed in costumes ranging from jailbirds to Uncle Sam and waving both American flags and Trump flags. The city dramatically announced “enhanced security protocols” around the courthouse, no doubt in anticipation of violence from the Mega MAGA Rebels. Don’t expect things to grow any calmer in the weeks and months to come.