The Washington Post has found the "real reason" why President Trump is supposedly "constantly losing in court." But one has to read down to graf 15 in the story to learn it's because Democratic appointees are (brace yourselves) ruling against the president.
The Post assures us that Trump is wrong to blame Democrat judges on the Ninth Circuit for his losses in court, by writing an 1,800-word piece concluding … Democratic judges on the Ninth and D.C. circuits are responsible for the lion's share of Trump's losses in court.
"The real reason the Trump administration is constantly losing in court," the Post headline reads, calling his 63 losses an "extraordinary record of legal defeat." It can't be that bad.
"Trump has blamed his losses on 'Obama judges' in the West Coast states that make up the 9th Circuit," the Post writes. "While 29 setbacks have come from 9th Circuit judges, the trend is national, with 34 originating elsewhere, particularly in the District of Columbia Circuit, according to a count by the Washington Post."
Hmm … District of Columbia … Would there happen to be any "Obama judges" there?
But let's run the numbers. "Democratic appointees, many of them tapped by presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, are responsible for 45" of the Trump administration's losses in court, or 71 percent. Forty-four of those came from the Ninth and D.C. circuits alone, amounting to 69 percent of Trump's losses.
The Post at least bothers to mention that "many of the cases are in early stages and subject to reversal," citing the Supreme Court's upholding of the administration's restriction on travel from seven terrorist hotbed countries.
Speaking of the Supreme Court, the same day the Post declared Trump is "constantly losing in court," Trump got yet another victory, as the highest court in the land sided with the administration making it easier for illegal immigrants with criminal records to be detained and deported.
The most recent rulings follow the Supreme Court siding with Trump on the transgender ban, against mandatory union dues, with crisis pregnancy centers, and with conservatives cleaning up Ohio's voting rolls.
I'd hate to see what constantly winning looks like.
But who cares what the highest court of the land says?
"But regardless of whether the administration ultimately prevails, the rulings so far paint a remarkable portrait of a government rushing to implement far-reaching changes in policy without regard for long-standing rules against arbitrary and capricious behavior," the Post exclaims.
Or maybe, it's indicative of trigger-happy liberals running to the Ninth Circuit to try to block every move the administration makes. But it's good the Post is not putting all its hopes on the Ninth Circuit, which doesn't exactly have the lowest ruling reversal rate.
The Post continued its stellar court coverage on Wednesday, reporting on its homepage the Trump administration "violated federal law," when a judge from—you guessed it—the D.C. circuit, issued an order blocking drilling in Wyoming, claiming the Department of Interior did not "take into account climate impact."
One problem: the lawsuit was filed in August 2016, against then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
The lawsuit deals with oil and gas lease sales held by the Bureau of Land Management between May 2015 and August 2016, according to the ruling issued by Judge Rudolph Contreras, an Obama appointee.
But let's not let these facts get in the way of accusing the Trump administration of "violating the law."
I think we've found the real reason the mainstream media is constantly getting things about the Trump administration wrong.