On Friday night, the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump gave opposing accounts of the steps and people involved in an external review of the records that had been taken from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last month as part of an FBI investigation into alleged illegal possession of classified information.
Attorneys for Trump and the government have offered the United States two potential “special master” candidates. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon announced in a ruling on Monday that she intends to appoint a third party to examine the data that have been seized and determine what information investigators are allowed to preserve.
The Bill Clinton nominee Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge who served in three of the most politically sensitive investigations in recent years, including inquiries of Trump attorneys Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, was put forth by the Justice Department.
Thomas Griffith, a former federal appeals court judge who was appointed by George H.W. Bush and left the influential D.C. in 2020, was also mentioned by the prosecution. Circuit.
On the other hand, Trump suggested Raymond Dearie, a former chief federal judge who served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and was appointed by Ronald Reagan to the Eastern District of New York. Dearie, who is best known for having presided over the FIFA executives’ corruption cases, also signed one of the warrants the FBI used to monitor Carter Page, a member of the 2016 Trump campaign.
Paul Huck Jr., who seems to have a lot of connections to people in Trump’s orbit, was also put forward by Trump’s legal team. In 2007 and 2008, the former Jones Day lawyer assisted Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who at the time was a Republican but is now a Democrat. At the same time, Trump’s current lawyer Chris Kise was also working for Crist’s administration. Huck and Barbara Lagoa are wed.