'Criminal': MAGA comes unglued as Trump DOJ suffers another big court blow

Pro-Trump influencers lit into a federal appeals court Wednesday after it refused to force Michigan to hand over the personal data of every registered voter in the state.

In a 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Justice Department cannot compel Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to produce the state's unredacted voter file, which includes the date of birth, driver's license number, and partial Social Security number of every registered voter. The court found the file isn't covered by Title III of the 1960 Civil Rights Act because Michigan creates and maintains the database itself, and separately ruled the DOJ never properly stated the basis and purpose for its demand.

"A baker may purchase ingredients from a grocery store (flour, eggs, etc.) and then proceed to bake cakes. It would be rather strange to say that the baker has 'come into' possession of the cakes after pulling them out of the oven. True, the baker did 'come into' possession of the ingredients she used to make the cakes by acquiring those items from the grocery store. But the baker did not 'come into' possession of the cakes—she created them," the ruling said, bluntly.

MAGA commentators were furious.

"An activist federal court has just BLOCKED the Trump DOJ from demanding Michigan's voter file as the Democrat Secretary of State shields fraud," posted activist Eric Daugherty, who called for an appeal to the Supreme Court. "Unbelievable!"

Daugherty bemoaned that "Trump's effort to secure our elections is being assaulted on nearly ALL fronts."

Commentator Jack branded the ruling "CRIMINAL."

Right-wing journalist Breanna Morello, meanwhile, dubbed it "bad news."

The "activist" framing collided with an inconvenient fact. A Trump-appointed district judge had already tossed the same suit in February, and the only Trump appointee on the appeals panel was the one who dissented. The court made no finding about voter fraud.

The DOJ sued six blue states last fall after demanding voter rolls nationwide.

Another judge this week found the administration had "knowingly trampled" on voting rights through its revamped SAVE citizenship database. Benson has called the demand an "unconstitutional power grab."