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Judge Overrules Special Master’s Demands to Trump in Document Review


WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday upheld a measure imposed by a special expert, requiring former President Donald J. Trump to certify the accuracy of an FBI inventory of assets it had obtained. seized from his Florida estate last month, appreciating an arbitrator she appointed herself.

Decision, included in a six-page order issued by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, among several to ease the request of the special owner, Judge Raymond J. Dearie. Under requests he has made in recent days, Mr. Trump’s lawyers will be forced to examine the defenses they have made regarding the trove of documents taken from his estate, Mar-a. – Lagos.

Judge Cannon also rejected a fast-track timetable that Judge Dearie had set to deal with the review of documents, slowing the matter down.

Although the referees’ duel and antagonistic moves are procedural in nature, they reflect a larger struggle over who controls the rules of the review – and those Who will support? In removing the restrictions the particular employer sought to impose, Judge Cannon essentially let Trump and his legal team out of a box that Judge Dearie tried to put them in. .

Judge Dearie’s request for Trump’s lawyers to confirm on Friday the accuracy of the FBI’s archives – and say whether there was anything in it that agents had not taken from Mar-a-Lago no – got Mr Trump and his lawyers tied. If they admit that the office found sensitive documents, the admission could be used as evidence against Mr.

Furthermore, in public statements, Mr. Trump has repeatedly accused FBI agents of spreading evidence during their searches. The certification that Judge Dearie requested would require Mr. Trump’s lawyers to deny those claims or repeat them in court, where they could face professional consequences for lying.

Mr. Trump’s attorneys objected to that request, accusing Judge Dearie of doing more than he was authorized to do.

In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, sided with the former president, removing the inventory rule. Her original order, she said, “did not consider that obligation.”

“There will be no separate claim against the plaintiff at this stage, prior to the review of any seized documents,” she wrote.

As the judge who appointed the special master, Judge Cannon has the right to overrule Judge Dearie. But she herself has been partly opposed: A federal appeals court in Atlanta exempted documents with the mark of classification from the special master’s review and allowed the Justice Department to continue using them. in the investigation, partially blocking her original order.

Judge Dearie also directed Mr. Trump’s legal team to sort any documents he intends to assert executive privilege into two categories: privileges that help protect White House information from being released to those in need. people outside the executive branch, such as Congress and the purported privilege. shield that information from review by law enforcement.

By requiring Mr. Trump’s lawyers to do so, Judge Dearie forced them to confront a weakness that many legal experts say lies at the heart of the controversy that executive privilege is involved. in this context: specifically the Department of Justice itself is part of the Executive Branch.

Mr. Trump’s legal team also objected to that request, saying that Judge Cannon had not given general permission specifically to cause them to engage in such a distinction. On Thursday, Judge Cannon also appeared with Mr. Trump on that issue.

Mr. Trump’s attorneys only need to indicate whether something is subject to executive privilege – and, if so, include a statement with “a complete description of the basis and scope of the assertion to make the claim.” from which to evaluate the value of the affirmation,” she said.

Judge Dearie set a fast schedule for the review. He gave Mr. Trump’s team an October deadline to complete the classification of the documents in batches, and he appears to have envisioned writing an interim report to Judge Cannon on them.

But Mr. Trump’s lawyers have complained that the review is moving too quickly; Judge Cannon on Thursday slowed the process, giving Mr. Trump’s lawyers significant time to review the documents.

At Judge Dearie’s suggestion, he could have analyzed the central issue raised by Mr. Trump’s statements of executive privilege in late October. But Judge Cannon’s order could delay the filing. his report and recommendations to her until December.

Judge Cannon’s decision to side with the former president in installing a special master surprised legal experts, who widely condemned her legal reasoning.

The appeals court’s decision allowing the Justice Department to continue its criminal investigation into Mr. Trump’s hoarding of sensitive government documents has raised questions about whether the special master’s degree assessment, which has been down to assess unclassified records, have any significant impact on the former president.

Judge Dearie’s requests put Mr. Trump at a significant disadvantage by threatening to quickly Break through Trump’s defenses. But Judge Cannon’s intervention on Thursday lessened that threat.



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