The Justice Department has said it is willing to accept one of Donald Trump’s nominees as a “special master” in its legal battle with the FBI. Federal prosecutors filed a legal brief Monday afternoon signing off on the motion by Raymond Deary, a 78-year-old former U.S. District Court judge appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1986. The special master is a trusted third party who will review top-secret documents taken from Mr. Trump’s Florida home in Mar-a-Lago to determine whether any should be recused from the case. It comes after the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, break-in at Capitol Hill expanded dramatically as dozens of current and former Trump aides were subpoenaed for depositions and documents, and some even had their phones seized. It was the first concrete step taken by the Justice Department to focus the agency’s Jan. 6 investigation around the White House and the president, rather than just the uprising itself. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Donald Trump’s lawyers speculated that documents marked “classified” found at Mar-a-Lago may not have been classified at all — and argued that even if they were, Mr. Trump has an “absolute right” to access them under the Presidential Records Act.
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ICYMI: Big day coming up on Tuesday for the January 6th committee
Lawmakers in the Jan. 6 committee will discuss the possibility of subpoenaing Donald Trump and/or Mike Pence to testify when they meet in person on Capitol Hill today. The gathering will be the panelists’ first since the August break. Preparations are underway for the next public hearings of the select committee on January 6 and attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Read more in The Independent by John Bowden:
The Jan. 6 panel may call Trump to testify when they meet this week, the report said
The investigation has been going on for months with statements from other witnesses John Bowden 13 September 2022 08:15 1663047900
Biden: ‘Tough 2 years’ if Democrats lose Congress
Joe Biden predicts a big showdown in Washington if Republicans take the House and/or Senate in November’s midterm elections. Analysts say Republicans are favored to take the lower chamber, while issues developing in the campaigns of some of the party’s Senate candidates have somewhat limited the party’s fortunes. The president hopes to rally his party to prevent either of those possibilities from happening, and urged supporters to go big at a fundraiser. “If we lose the House and lose the Senate, it’s going to be a very difficult two years,” he told a crowd of about 30 donors and guests. “I’ll spend more time with the veto pen than doing anything.” Read more in the Independent:
Biden: ‘Tough 2 years’ if Democrats lose Congress
President Joe Biden says if Democrats lose the upcoming midterm elections, it will be a “tough couple of years” and he will spend a lot of time “with the veto pen.” John Bowden 13 September 2022 06:45 1663042500
Biden’s midterm self-edit: Less talk of inflation woes
Joe Biden has toned down his rhetoric, saying he will fight consumer prices as he tries to focus on his recent legislative victories — as well as nagging criminal investigations into his potential 2024 challenger. The president is rethinking his strategy ahead of a midterm battle that will determine whether he has any chance of continuing to pursue his legislative agenda last November. Read more in the Independent:
Biden’s midterm self-edit: Less talk of inflation woes
In recent speeches, President Joe Biden has stopped talking so much about inflation concerns John Bowden 13 September 2022 05:15 1663038944
Poll Shows Tim Ryan Slightly Ahead of JD Vance in Ohio Senate Race
Donald Trump’s pick for the U.S. Senate in Ohio is the latest Republican to struggle to perform against a Democrat as his party faces a crucial midterm election test. J. It’s a close race, but much closer than Republicans had hoped, given that the seat is currently held by a retired GOP senator, Rob Portman. If the Republicans lose this seat in November, they will have almost no chance of taking the Senate from the Democrats. Read more from the Independent’s Eric Garcia:
Poll Shows Tim Ryan Slightly Ahead of JD Vance in Ohio Senate Race
Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally with Vance in Youngstown on Saturday John Bowden 13 September 2022 04:15 1663035344
CNN host under fire for saying Trump should be invited to Queen’s funeral: ‘Stop normalizing treason’
CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s comments about Joe Biden extending an invitation to Donald Trump to attend the Queen’s funeral drew heavy criticism over the weekend. The comment, which the primetime host made during a Friday night panel discussing the state funeral scheduled for September 19 at London’s Westminster Abbey, sparked outrage from people who described themselves as long-time viewers. of his program. This even led to the hashtag #boycottCNN starting to trend over the weekend. Read more from the Independent’s Johanna Chisholm:
CNN’s Jake Tapper under fire for saying Trump should be invited to Queen’s funeral
Jake Tapper’s comments that it would be “smart” for President Biden to invite his predecessor were met with cheers John Bowden 13 September 2022 03:15 1663031744
Random people are asking to be Trump’s special master in the classified documents case
Random members of the public have put their names forward to be a special master to review documents seized by the FBI at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The former president’s legal team and the Justice Department have submitted their picks for who will take the role as part of the criminal investigation. But both parties must agree on a candidate — unless the judge in the case decides they’re deadlocked and picks his own option. This has led to a flurry of people jokingly submitting their own names for the job. Read more from the Independent:
Random people are asking to be Trump’s special master in the classified documents case
The former president asked for the role to be paid after the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago John Bowden September 13, 2022 02:15 1663029455
The Justice Department accepts Trump’s special selection
The Justice Department has said it is ready to accept the special master nominee nominated by Donald Trump’s legal team, Graeme Massey reports. In a legal filing, federal prosecutors gave the nod to Raymond Dearie, a 78-year-old jurist appointed by Ronald Reagan who served on the U.S. District Court from 1986 to 2011. Referring to Mr. Dearie along with their own nominees, Barbara Jones and Thomas Griffith, the prosecutors said: “Each has substantial judicial experience, having presided over federal criminal and civil cases, including federal cases involving matters of national security and privileges”. He was “respectfully opposed” to Mr. Trump’s second choice, Paul Hack Jr., the son of a judge listed as a “contributor” by the conservative Federalist Society. (law firm Jones Day) He also happens to be the husband of Barbara Lagoa, a first-generation Cuban-American judge in Florida who was one of Trump’s nominees to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she died in the final months of his presidency in 2020 . Read Graeme’s full story here. Io Dodds13 September 2022 01:37 1663027868
Trump goes golfing with aides – but no golf clubs – drawing comparisons to ‘mobsters’ and Ocean’s Eleven
Donald Trump was spotted on the greens of a golf course in Virginia on Monday in a sight that has sparked intense speculation due to recent events. The former chairman was pictured touring the grounds of Sterling’s property with a number of men, including Brad Enie, his grounds manager for the club. It was not immediately clear, but the images appeared to show Mr. Trump inspecting or giving a tour of his club’s golf course with members of the Trump Organization. But that wasn’t enough of an explanation for Twitter, which began a frenzy of speculation early Monday morning after it was first announced that Mr. Trump was flying to the D.C. area. The trip to D.C., of course, came as Mr. Trump is believed to be the subject of two separate criminal investigations — one into the possible illegal retention of classified material at Mar-a-Lago and another into the events of January 6. Read more from John Bowden in The Independent:
Trump goes golfing with aides – but no golf clubs – drawing comparisons to ‘mobsters’
The President’s trip to the DC area is fueling speculation John Bowden 13 September 2022 01:11 1663020145
Trump aide Boris Epstein’s phone seized as Justice Department ramps up probe Jan. 6
Dozens of associates and former advisers to Donald Trump were just subpoenaed as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing January 6 investigation. The investigation now formally concerns the actions of the former president and his top aides during the attack on Congress and in the weeks leading up to it. The New York Times reported on the calls late Monday afternoon. Some members of Mr Trump’s inner circle, including Boris Efstein, had their phones confiscated. The development is an important step for the Justice Department and the first real concrete step to push the agency’s investigation beyond simply prosecuting the hundreds of people involved in the attack itself. Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:
Justice Department ramps up investigation Jan. 6 with 40 subpoenas to Trump aides
The Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6 attack is entering a new and more active phase John Bowden September 12, 2022 11:02 p.m 1663018530
