U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this week granted Trump’s request for a special master — a third-party lawyer outside the government — and ordered criminal investigators at the Justice Department to stop using the seized materials as part of the ongoing of research until The expert master completes their review. Along with its nominees, the Justice Department wants the special master to move relatively quickly, completing his review in five weeks, by Oct. 17. Trump proposed 90 days. Whoever ends up being tapped to take on the role will immediately be thrust into the center of one of the most consequential criminal investigations in modern American history.
Candidates for the Ministry of Justice: Griffiths and Jones
The Justice Department appointed two retired federal judges — Thomas Griffiths and Barbara Jones — to serve as special tutors. Griffith, a Bush appointee, served on the D.C. Court of Appeals from 2005 to 2020. In one of his last major decisions before retiring, he wrote the majority that rejected House Democrats’ effort to subpoena Trump’s former White House adviser , Don McG. (The decision was later overturned.) Griffith later co-authored a report with other prominent conservative lawyers and officials that debunked Trump’s lies about massive fraud in the 2020 election. And he publicly endorsed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. Jones, a Bill Clinton federal appointee, is a former federal prosecutor and retired judge from the Southern District of New York from 1995 to 2012. She was tapped to serve as a special master to review materials seized during an FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani’s home and office in April 2021. She was also a special master in the Michael Cohen case, to make sure investigators didn’t wipe out any document that they had attorney-client privilege. Both Giuliani and Cohen were Trump’s lawyers while under investigation by the Justice Department.
Trump Candidates: Huck Jr. and Deary
Trump’s legal team has appointed attorney Paul Huck Jr. and Judge Raymond Dearie to serve as special master. Hack, who has his own law firm, was a partner at the law firm Jones Day, which represented Trump’s 2016 campaign, and is a contributor to the conservative legal group the Federalist Society. He previously served as deputy attorney general for Florida and as general counsel to former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist — who was a Republican at the time and is now the Democratic candidate for governor in Florida. Chris Kise, Trump’s current lawyer, also worked for Crist and overlaps with Huck. They worked together in the Florida attorney general’s office. Huck’s wife, Barbara Lagoa, was on Trump’s short list as a Supreme Court nominee following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020. Dearie has served as a federal judge in New York since 1986, when he was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan. He retired in 2011 and is now a senior circuit judge. Dearie also served a seven-year term on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA court. He was one of the judges who approved a request by the FBI and the Justice Department to monitor Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page as part of the federal investigation into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
The details are at the judge’s discretion
Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the case, has said she will decide the “exact details and mechanics” of the special master proceeding “that way” after both sides file their motions. It is unclear whether she will hold a hearing on the matter or simply issue a written order with her decision. The two sides have not agreed on much throughout the trial, and unsurprisingly, their motions filed Friday lay out very different visions of how the special master should conduct their review. For example, both sides also disagree about who should pay for the special master. Trump’s lawyers suggested that the special master’s costs should be split “evenly” between him and the US government. The Justice Department told the judge they believe Trump should pay for the whole thing because he’s the one “asking for the special master.” It’s unclear when Cannon will decide what happens next.
Cannon’s separate appeal and request for a continuance of the investigation
Separately, prosecutors are appealing Cannon’s ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and also on Thursday asked Cannon to issue an emergency order that would temporarily allow investigators to use the seized materials during the appeal.
The Justice Department also says it should be allowed to continue to access the classified documents as the intelligence community reviews the material for national security reasons, arguing that an intelligence review cannot easily be separated from a criminal investigation. Top federal prosecutors said the intelligence review has been temporarily halted because of Cannon’s decision, undermining national security.
The unprecedented investigation came after a different federal judge approved the warrant, finding there was “probable cause” of several crimes, including violations of the Espionage Act and possible obstruction of justice. FBI agents recovered more than 100 classified documents during the investigation, including 18 marked “top secret,” the highest classification level.
The investigation revolves around the possible mishandling of classified government documents. The US government has recovered at least 325 classified documents from Mar-a-Lago this year, through Trump’s voluntary exchange of documents in January, a grand jury subpoena in June and an FBI investigation last month.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
This story has been updated with additional details.
