Second prediction:
And this one is REALLY going out on a limb. So, reasons first, prediction second.
Whether the review of the documents is done by a special master or by the judge himself, or (less than possible) agreement of the parties, the bottom line is that a ruling is made (or stipulated) that certain documents
cannot be used by the government in a criminal prosecution.
That's the
ONLY thing this sub-controversy is about - if Trump is charged with a crime and put on trial, can the prosecution enter the documents into evidence? Can the jury see them?
Of course, that means that if there's no criminal trial, any decision about so-called attorney-client privileged documents is
MEANINGLESS.
There has to be a trial, or the whole thing is an exercise in futility.
But I am not ready to predict that the DOJ is going to charge Trump with any crime at all. I think they'll back down in cowardice instead. And so, my prediction is conditional:
I predict that IF there is a criminal trial of Trump in the future, his lawyer(s) will not even bother wasting time on the issue, because the government wouldn't have any good reason to try to get a legitimately privileged document into evidence.
The bottom line is, the whole issue is kind of silly. 'Course, a lot of what we see would be silly if'n it wasn't so stinkin' dangerous.