The new book “Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department” by Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis reveals the biggest misstep in the Justice Department’s case against then-former-President Donald Trump: How Special Prosecutor Jack L. Smith chose to file the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case in Florida rather than Washington. Smith is quoted as saying, “I’m not worried about Florida.”

Smith wasn’t worried about Florida because he thought the facts, the evidence of the case, would be more important than where the case would be tried. 

Smith might not be aware of professional wrestling. If he was, he would have been smart enough to worry about Florida. If he was, he would have been smart enough to know the facts don’t matter as much as where the facts are presented, especially when the venue can suppress any facts. 

According to the book, the Justice Department thought there was a one in six chance the case would end up in U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s Florida courtroom. The case ended up in U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s Florida courtroom. Only in Florida.

If Smith, or anyone on his team understood professional wrestling, they would have stayed away from the state that helped permanently alter the media landscape and pave the way for technocrats to shape both Trump presidencies. 

Gawker is no longer part of the media ecosystem because about a decade earlier, they learned how justice in Florida can be different.

After Gawker posted Hulk Hogan’s sex tape, Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) took Gawker to court in Florida. And won. He won so, so much. Bankrolled by venture capitalist and technology entrepreneur Peter Thiel (which was not known at the time), the consequences of Bollea v. Gawker reverberate today, especially in this White House. When it comes to Smith’s failure, the most important lesson has nothing to do with the facts of the sex tape case. 

If you’re like Smith and are not a Hulkamaniac, here’s a simple timeline breakdown.

Hogan, who died in July at age 71, appears in 1982’s “Rocky III” as Thunderlips, introducing himself as a larger than life figure to non-wrestling fans.

Hulk becomes the biggest star in pro wrestling in pro wrestling’s biggest era (the mid-1980s) under Vince McMahon’s then-WWF (now WWE).

The Hulkster reinvents himself as one of the biggest villains in pro wrestling’s second-biggest era (the late 1990s) under Ted Turner’s WCW.

Hogan evolves into an early reality TV star on “Hogan Knows Best” in the 2000s (a sex tape of Hogan and Heather Clem, the then-wife of popular morning shock jock host Bubba Clem, aka Bubba The Love Sponge, is recorded in the midst of the VH1 series).

Hogan denies he had sex with Heather on “The Howard Stern Show” in October 2011.

Gawker gets sent the sex tape and posts it in October 2012. Days later Hogan sues Gawker over copyright infringement in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking a temporary injunction to take the tape down.

The court denies the motion, ruling that the validity of the copyright was in question and argues the publication of the video might be protected by fair use since Hogan has been a massively visible public figure for more than four decades. Hogan’s team files another injunction in Florida state court and wins. Upon appeal, the Florida state District Court of Appeal reverses the injunction on the same grounds as the U.S. District Court.

In 2013, the Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit for Pinellas County, Fla. Bollea sought $100 million in damages. 

In March 2016, a jury, people that definitely knew of the very public figure, found Gawker Media liable and awarded Bollea $115 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.

Only in Florida.

If Smith, or anyone in Smith’s office, was remotely cognizant of the most important media trail of the 2010s, they might have steered clear of Florida.

If Smith, or anyone in Smith’s office, was a Hulkamaniac in the 80s or wore an nWo shirt in the 90s, they might have steered clear of Florida.   

An understanding of professional wrestling isn’t a prerequisite to understand much of anything. You can be a great prosecutor and live blissfully unaware of sports entertainment. But an understanding of the extremely popular, most often overlooked aspect of pop culture, would have helped Smith and anyone else attempting to get a grasp on why they should worry about Florida. 

Hogan didn’t win in Florida because he was a wrestler. Trump didn’t win in Florida because he’s in the WWE Hall of Fame (technically Trump didn’t “win” the case brought by Smith since it was withdrawn by the Justice Department after the election and before the inauguration, but that doesn’t matter to the WWE Hall of Famer or his base).

Hogan and Trump won in Florida because it was where they could win. It’s home field advantage. It’s the warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia. It’s not the facts, stupid. The facts don’t matter when the outcome is predetermined. 

Like federal prosecutor David Raskin said when he found out about pursuing the case in Florida, “Are you all fucking insane?”