Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor who more than most at the right wing cable network stands up to President Donald Trump, was exceptionally passive in his moderation of the first presidential debate of 2020.

He was equally passive in how he discussed and described his performance.

“I’m just sad with the way last night turned out,” Wallace passively told The New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum.

“I never dreamt that it would go off the tracks the way it did,” he continued, appearing to take no responsibility for what was overwhelmingly described on social media Tuesday night as a “shit show.”

Continuing down the path of passivity, Wallace lamented it was “a terrible missed opportunity.”

“I’ve read some of the reviews, I know people think, Well, gee, I didn’t jump in soon enough,” he added. “I guess I didn’t realize — and there was no way you could, hindsight being 20/20 — that this was going to be the president’s strategy, not just for the beginning of the debate but the entire debate.”

There in fact was every reason to believe Trump would do what he did Tuesday night – bully, attack, threaten, lie, talk over his opponent, talk over the moderator, refuse to answer direct questions, and embarrass the nation – because he’s done it before, to varying degrees.

“I’m a pro. I’ve never been through anything like this,” Wallace says.

He also refused to blame the president for destroying the entire debate.

Asked directly if Mr. Trump had derailed the debate, Mr. Wallace replied, “Well, he certainly didn’t help.”

Care to elaborate? “No,” Mr. Wallace said. “To quote the president, ‘It is what it is.’”

Wallace seems keenly aware of the power of public opinion, and clearly allowed that to impact his role.

“People have to remember, and too many people forget, both of these candidates have the support of tens of millions of Americans.”

The heads of Fox News, the Murdoch family, praised Wallace, issued a memo supporting him, and toasted him.

Wallace does not seem to have any regrets.

“Generally speaking, I did as well as I could, so I don’t have any second thoughts there,” Mr. Wallace said, in conclusion. “I’m just disappointed with the results. For me, but much more importantly, I’m disappointed for the country, because it could have been a much more useful evening than it turned out to be.”

After President Donald Trump wholly ignored both the debate rules he agreed to and the moderator he agree to, the Committee on Presidential Debates said it would examine options to get control him.

They have.

The Commission will allow future debate moderators to cut candidates’ microphones if they deem necessary, according to CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell.

EXCLUSIVE: @CBSNews has learned the Commission on Presidential Debates plans to issue strict new rules in the coming days that include cutting off a candidate’s microphone if they violate the rules, per an informed source.

More tonight on the @CBSEveningNews

— Norah O’Donnell ?? (@NorahODonnell) September 30, 2020

That would be one option of several moderators can expect to be given – it’s unclear if the candidates will have to agree to the updated rules.

The Commission issued a statement Wednesday in response to the disaster caused by President Trump. The organization said Tuesday’s “debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”

They have vowed they “are going to be making changes” to avoid a replay of last night’s out of control catastrophe.

President Trump turned the debate into what many called a “shit show.”

A federal judge has ordered the Dept. of Justice to publish redacted portions of the Mueller report after determining Attorney General Bill Barr had not met his burden to satisfy keeping the information privileged.

“Based on the Court’s review of the unredacted version of the Mueller Report, the Court concludes that the Department has failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that the withheld material is protected by the deliberative process privilege,” U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton wrote, as The Hill reports.

The redactions are important. They detail the process by which Mueller’s team decided to charge or not charge individuals with crimes. The full extent of who that includes in the report is not known, but there was great discussion after the report was released about why President Donald Trump had not been charged.

Judge Walton was appointed by President George W. Bush.

This is a breaking news and developing story.