Yes, I agree that Judge Ward had a reason for saying it. I never bought for a second that it slipped his mind. He would have been well prepared for that hearing, and I don't know a single Federal judge who is not knowledgeable about the procedural posture of the case and the litigants before him.

I can't speak to his motivations (your theory is as good and perhaps better than any others that come to mind).

There are no such things as coincidences or accidents--Mac L's statement in the recent PR being a prime example.

tps