The filings came after a federal judge granted Trump’s request on Monday to have a special master review materials obtained by the FBI to determine whether they are protected by attorney-client or executive privilege. The Justice Department also filed a motion Thursday to ask the special master not to review more than 100 classified documents obtained by the FBI, arguing that a pause in reviewing those materials could cause “irreparable harm” to the government and the public. delays the investigation. Trump’s legal team and the Justice Department have each nominated two candidates to conduct the review. Here are the four people Trump and the Justice Department have nominated to serve as special counsel: Raymond J. Dearie Trump selected Raymond J. Dearie, retired US District Judge for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), as one of his picks. Dearie was nominated for the seat and confirmed by the Senate in 1986 by then-President Reagan. He served as the court’s chief judge from 2007 to 2011, according to his profile page on the court’s website. Dearie took the top job on the court in 2011, moving into a form of semi-retirement that allows judges over 65 to take on a lighter caseload. Dearie also served as U.S. attorney for the EDNY from 1982 to 1986. He also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which reviews requests for surveillance warrants against suspected foreign spies in the U.S., according to court filings by Trump and DOJ announcing their selections. Paul Huck Jr. Paul Huck Jr., who is Trump’s other pick, has spent his legal career working in both the public and private sectors. Hack served as a deputy attorney general in Florida for four years and then served as general counsel to Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican at the time who joined the Democratic Party, from 2007 to 2008. While serving as general counsel, he was Crist’s top legal adviser on constitutional, legislative and legislative issues involving the executive branch, according to his profile page on the website of the conservative legal group The Federalist Society, where he contributes. The Federalist Society designates a contributor who speaks or participates in its events, publications, or media presentations, and the title does not necessarily imply any other endorsement or affiliation with the organization. Huck also founded his own law firm, the Huck Law Firm, and is a former partner at the multinational law firm Jones Day, according to the court filing. Barbara S. Jones One of the DOJ’s picks is Barbara S. Jones, who served as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York for more than a decade and a half. He was nominated for the seat in 1995 by then-President Clinton. She presided over cases on a wide range of issues including accounting and securities fraud, antitrust, corruption, labor racketeering and terrorism while serving, according to her profile page for Bracewell LLP, where she is a partner. Before serving as a district judge, he served as chief assistant to Robert Morgenthau, the New York County District Attorney at the time. Jones also served as chairman of the Commission on Adult Sexual Assault Crimes, which Congress created to analyze sexual assault investigations in the military. He served as a special master in 2018 to review documents from Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to determine whether any were privileged. Thomas B. Griffith Justice Department subpoenas Stephen Miller over Trump PAC fundraising: report Roberts counters critics questioning Supreme Court legitimacy Thomas B. Griffith, the other DOJ nominee, served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020. He serves as special counsel to the law firm Hutton Andrews Kurth LLP. Griffith served as Senate legal counsel, the body’s nonpartisan top legal official, from 1995 to 1999, according to his profile page on his law firm’s website. Advised Senate leadership and committees on role investigations. Griffith was also the general counsel at Brigham Young University in Utah for five years. He is a lecturer in law at Harvard University and has served in this role previously for Stanford University and Brigham Young.
