I spent a bit of time reading over Hizzoner Larry Burns’ order on the subpoenas that weren’t and I now realize that I dodged a bullet.

It turns out that Burns never considered the First Amendment arguments made by The Associated Press and NBC’s Lisa Myers.

He didn’t need to because the jury that convicted Brent Wilkes of supplying Randy “Duke” Cunningham with hookers and cash wasn’t influenced by grand jury leaks. And Burns couldn’t go Matlock on us and investigate the leaks himself. That was the Justice Department’s job, “slipshod” as the judge felt it was.

Good thing too because Burns give a sneak peek at how he might have ruled by citing the case of two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who were leaked grand jury testimony of Barry Bonds and other elite athletes.

The court notes, however, that the very same arguments were recently considered by the United States District Court for Northern California and rejected (emphasis added)

Yikes! I could have wound up in jail!

Good thing I never wrote about how Burns was rushing the Wilkes case along at breakneck speed to avoid postponing an upcoming border bust trial. And I guess it was a good idea to avoid examining the whispers of Burns as “a prosecutor in a robe.”

Ohmigod! I did not just say that! I take that back. Judge Burns is a most wise and benevolent jurist, a very fair judge, and a very nice man.

O yes my precious, very nice.