Is a special master really needed?
Former federal prosecutor Bret Tolman joined ‘Sunday Night In America’ to weigh in on the latest ‘twists and turns’ of the Trump legal team’s request for a special master.
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Former President Trump’s legal team objected to the Justice Department’s proposed candidates to serve as the independent special master to review the records seized by the FBI during its unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago last month.
In a filing Monday, Trump’s lawyers said the former president “objects to the proposed nominees of the Department of Justice,” and believes there are “specific reasons why those nominees are not preferred for service as Special Master in this case.”
Trump’s lawyers said that the federal judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, required a list of proposed candidates, but “did not specify whether that is to include specific advocacy as to why certain nominees are or are not suitable to serve as Special Master.”
“[Trump] also submits it is more respectful to the candidates from either party to withhold the bases for opposition from a public, and likely be widely circulated, pleading,” the filing states, asking for the court for “permission to specifically express our objections to the Government’s nominees only at such a time that the Court specifies a desire to obtain and consider that information.”
Former President Donald Trump in New York City following the FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago home. (Felipe Ramales / Fox News Digital)
Trump’s lawyers said that information could then be provided on camera or “pursuant to whatever procedure the Court deems most efficient and appropriate.”
“Consistent with that approach, [Trump] is willing to provide our specific rationale for supporting our nominees if and when the Court so orders,” the filing states.
The Justice Department and Trump’s legal team submitted their preferred candidates to serve as an independent special master to review the records, but the two sides disagree on the scope of duties that person would have.
DOJ, TRUMP LAWYERS SUBMIT CHOICES FOR MAR-A-LAGO RAID SPECIAL MASTER, SPAR OVER SCOPE
The Justice Department submitted the names of two retired judges on Friday. The first judge, Barbara Jones, served on the federal bench in Manhattan and served as special master in high profile cases involving Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen. The second, Thomas Griffith, is a former federal appeals court jurist in the District of Columbia.
This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. (Department of Justice via AP)
The Trump team proposed one retired judge, Raymond Dearie — also the former top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York — and a prominent Florida lawyer, Paul Huck, Jr.
If the two sides can not agree on a candidate, Judge Cannon can appoint a candidate on her own.
Lawyers for Trump said they believe the so-called special master should review all documents seized by the FBI during its search last month of Mar-a-Lago, including records with classification markings, and filter out any that may be protected by claims of executive privilege.
Former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Justice Department, by contrast, said it does not believe the arbiter should be permitted to inspect classified records or resolve potential claims of executive privilege.
Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
