Trump, US govt present ‘special master’ candidates
Washington, Sep 9 (EFE).- Former United States President Donald Trump and the US government Friday presented their respective candidates for a “special master” to review the documents seized by FBI agents during a raid of Trump’s residence in Florida last month.
In a proposal handed to federal judge Aileen Cannon, who is handling the case, Trump named attorney Paul Huck Jr. and Judge Raymond Dearie, a retired chief federal judge.
Meanwhile, the government proposed former federal appeals court judge Thomas Griffith and former federal judge Barbara Jones.
Both parties had until Friday to present their candidates.
It will now be up to the judge to pick the “special master” from among the proposed names.
The Justice Department also asked the court that the expert complete the review of the case by Oct. 17.
On Thursday, the government led by Joe Biden appealed Cannon’s decision in favor of the appointment of an independent expert to review the documents seized during the raid of Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8.
Judge Cannon, of the Southern District of Florida, ordered that the expert, still to be appointed, be in charge of reviewing the seized records, and make recommendations and evaluate claims for their return.
The Justice Department had previously said that the appointment of a third-party was unnecessary since a team had selected the documents that could be covered by attorney-client privilege.
It added that the appointment would delay the criminal investigation being carried out by the government into the potential mishandling of classified materials by the former Republican president.
During the raid, the FBI found classified and secret documents that Trump allegedly took with him when he left the White House in January 2021.
There were also 90 empty folders labeled “classified” and “return to staff secretary/military aide,” according to the inventory of the seized material released last week. EFE
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