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The Justice Department and former President Donald Trump Friday submitted a proposed list of special master candidates following the granting of the request of the former president by a judge that a special master be appointed to review documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Mr. Trump
had argued that some of the seized documents were protected under
attorney-client or executive privilege.
Why does Trump want a special master to review seized Mar-a-Lago documents?
Trump’s
lawyers argued they believe the special master should review all documents
seized by the FBI during its Mar-a-Lago search on August 8, which includes
records with classification markings and remove any that may be protection by
claims of attorney-client or executive privilege, The Washington Times reported.
The Justice
Department argued the special master should not be permitted to inspect
classified records or to take into account potential claims of executive
privilege, according to The Washington Times.
Who are the proposed Justice Department special master candidates?
Retired
Judges Barbara Jones, who served on the federal bench in Manhattan and Thomas
Griffith, a former federal appeals court jurist in the District of Columbia
were submitted as possible arbiter by the Justice Department. Trump submitted a
retired judge, Raymond Dearie, the former top federal prosecutor in the Eastern
District of New York and Florida lawyer Paul Huck Jr., The Washington Times
reported.
Who are the proposed Trump special master candidates?
On Monday
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted a request by former President Donald
Trump to appoint a special master in a bid to review documents seized from
Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home during a raid by FBI agents at the former
president’s Palm Beach Florida estate.
The ruling
authorizes an outside legal expert to review documents recovered from Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago estate that might see the removal of certain records protected by
claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
Cannon gave
both parties until Friday to submit potential candidates for the role of
special master and also propose the scope of the person’s duties and the
schedule of his or her work.
How many documents where seized from Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago?
About 11,000
documents which included 100 with classified markings were seized from Trump’s
home, according to The Washington Times. In January additional 15 boxes were
recovered by the National Archives and Records Administration.
"The
court hereby authorizes the appointment of a special master to review the
seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged
material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege,"
Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in an order Monday, Newsweek reported.
The decision
is putting a “brief pause” into investigation of Trump by the Justice
Department relating to possible violation of the Espionage Act as well as a
criminal investigation into mishandling, storage and removal of classified
records.
By the
ruling, government investigators are effectively barred from "reviewing
and using the seized materials for investigative purposes" until the
special master's review is complete, Newsweek reported.
The
Department of Justice (DOJ) had argued that a special master was not necessary
because its officials had already completed their review of potentially
privileged documents.
Attorneys
for the former President had argued in a filing last week that “unchecked
investigators” could not be trusted to conduct a fair investigation, according
to The Washington Times.
FBI agents
seized 1,800 other items during its raid at Mar-a-Lago, according to The Associated
Press. Some of the 100 documents had classification markings including some
with “top secret” markings.