How would this be any different from the bar that a prosecutor has for bringing a criminal trial to court? Lost time, lost reputation, chance of losing the election. Every time a prosecutor decides to go all in, they're taking what could be a huge risk -- if not in that particular case then in the aggregate.

Yet we see much different numbers from courts when an open adversarial system is used.

So a reasonable outside observer is left to conclude that either the federal government is full of incredibly competent legal minds, for whom the slightest mistake would be anathema -- or it's a rigged game. Doesn't matter what they bring.

I understand I'm making a bit of a false dichotomy for rhetorical effect, but my argument is still sound. One of these options is much more likely than the other one.