In documents filed in court Friday, attorneys for former President Trump and the Justice Department listed their preferred candidates for the special counsel role.
Steve Helber / AP
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Steve Helber / AP
In documents filed in court Friday, attorneys for former President Trump and the Justice Department listed their preferred candidates for the special counsel role.
Steve Helber / AP
Lawyers for former President Trump and the Justice Department have posed significant differences over who should operate as an independent organization. special master to review documents collected during an August 8 court-approved search of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club, where top-secret documents were found.
They also shared how special employers should go about identifying privileged information that could be returned to Trump.
The parties filed jointly Friday night with the Southern District Court of Florida before a midnight deadline set by Judge Aileen Cannon.
Earlier this week, the Department of Justice filed an application Stunning ordered by the judge to appoint a special master and asked to keep the order until the appeal is decided, but both have not been implemented. Trump’s lawyers have until Monday to respond to the appeal.
The government has proposed two retired federal judges as special directors if their appeal was unsuccessful: Barbara S. Jones, who served in the Southern District of New York and was appointed to the federal bench by Bill Clinton, and Thomas B. Griffith, an appointee of George W. Bush served in federal district court in Washington DC
Trump’s legal team recommended retired federal Judge Raymond J. Dearie, who was appointed to the Eastern District of New York by Ronald Reagan, and who also serves on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Their second candidate was Paul Huck, Jr., a former Jones Day associate and Confederation contributor who served in the Florida state government under the Republican Govs. Charlie Crist – now a Democrat – and Rick Scott.
The Justice Department and Trump’s attorneys disagree on the particular employer’s way of doing business
The government wants the review process to end by October 12, while Trump’s team has said it could take 90 days. The government also doesn’t believe the president should specifically review classified documents or adjudicate claims of executive privilege, which it argues Trump has no claim to as a former president. The Justice Department wants to talk to Trump’s team about whether the documents are privileged before they reach a particular owner, but Trump’s team wants all items seized in the search to be filed in person. forward to a special owner.
They also disagreed about who should bear the costs of the particular master. The government proposed that Trump’s team pay for the cost of the special master’s work since they requested it, while Trump’s lawyers proposed splitting it equally.
It is not yet clear when the distinction in the role of the special master will be sorted out, or when the special master will be chosen. Both sides have until Monday to consider each other’s preferred candidates.
