You miss the obvious. Congress is messed up, politics are messed up, the court system is messed up and Fannie/Freddiegate is FUBAR due to one fact and one fact alone... all of these messes are exclusively in the domain of LAWYERS.
This may be headed directly into the abyss of the Supreme Court with a huge vacancy and an already clogged judicial calendar for SCOTUS. The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has a huge pending problem. It has spent months contemplating the Perry Appeal and allegedly was informed by Fairholme that Judge Sweeney's release of documents in her Motion to Compel could bear substantial impact on their decision, pending. That communication does not appear to have been docketed. Now the government has filed intent to appeal to the same court the matter of that same Motion to Compel. Did the Fairholme communication prejudice any decision that court might render. Will they even consider hearing that new appeal or elevate it to SCOTUS level to avoid any concern of conflict or prejudice?
You are correct about "a long time" if the SCOTUS nuclear option becomes the deal-maker/deal-breaker. You would be lucky to have the government's appeal on Sweeney's Motion to Compel make onto the Fall/2017 docket. Then add 3 t0 4 months to hear the appeal, a month or so to write an opinion and then deal with the decision: to remand and consider without the documents... or... remand and consider with the government compelled to produce some or all the documents. All so that Judge Sweeney can decide whether to dismiss or eventually hear the Fairholme suit.
Meanwhile, the Perry Appeal would be stayed pending the SCOTUS ruling as it could pertain to their decision. Then they can rule or wait for new documents to be released that could influence their decision.
What a total trainwreck!
JMHO.
