'Go on the warpath': Trump nominated judge to federal bench after he ruled in his favor

20 June

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

One of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees reportedly pushed for his elevation to the federal bench after issuing a ruling that benefited Trump.

That's according to a Friday article in Politico, which reported that Ed Artau – who Trump nominated to the Southern District of Florida in May – was assured by higher-ups in the Trump administration that he would get a lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary after he sided with Trump in his lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board. Artau was part of a three-judge panel on the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal that allowed Trump's defamation lawsuit to move forward, in which the president is demanding the Pulitzer board rescind its 2018 awards to the New York Times and the Washington Post over its coverage of the 2016 Russian election interference probe.

Artau's opinion in that case went a bit further than his colleagues, as he argued that First Amendment precedent was wrongly established in the New York Times Company v. Sullivan case that requires public officials prove that media outlets engaged in "actual malice" before they can be sued for libel (Trump has repeatedly called for that precedent to be overturned).

Politico reported that shortly after Trump was elected to a second term last November, Artau met with the general counsel to Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to discuss the vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. And after Sen. Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) was appointed to her seat following Secretary of State Marco Rubio's confirmation, he reportedly met with her as well to discuss the vacancy.

Both senators reportedly informed Artau that they would recommend Trump appoint him to the vacancy, and Trump officially announced Artau's nomination roughly three months after his ruling allowing Trump's defamation lawsuit to proceed. Specifically, Politico reported that Artau interviewed with the White House Counsel's office on February 27, which was just weeks after the court published his opinion in Trump's Pulitzer suit.

Charles Geyh, who is a professor at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law, told Politico that anyone who is perceived to be an "archpartisan" can now leverage that as a strength to "help your cause with President Trump."

“The idea that you would have a judge thinking you know, it’s a good idea to go on the warpath in support of the President, is really a new development," Geyh said.

Click here to read Politico's full report.

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