Trump’s lawyers file a response about the Special Master
The logic in the response seems unassailable to me:
This investigation of the 45th President of the United States is both unprecedented and misguided. In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records. By way of its Motion [ECF No. 69], the Government now seeks to limit the scope of any review of its investigative conduct and presuppose the outcome, at least as regards to what it deems are “classified records.” However, the Court’s Order [ECF No. 64] is a sensible preliminary step towards restoring order from chaos. The Government should therefore not be permitted to skip the process and proceed straight to a preordained conclusion…
… What is clear regarding all of the seized materials is that they belong with either President Trump (as his personal property to be returned pursuant to Rule 41(g)) or with NARA, but not with the Department of Justice.
However, it is not even possible for this Court, or anyone else for that matter, to make any determination as to which documents and other items belong where and with whom without first conducting a thoughtful, organized review. Recognizing this, the Court exercised its equitable jurisdiction and inherent supervisory authority to “ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances presented.” Order [ECF No. 64 at 1]….
First, the Government’s position incorrectly presumes the outcome—that its separation of these documents is inviolable and not subject to question by this Court or anyone else. Second, the Government’s stance assumes that if a document has a classification marking, it remains classified irrespective of any actions taken during President Trump’s term in office. Third, as noted above, the Government continues to ignore the significance of the PRA. Indeed, if any seized documents (including any purported “classified records”) are Presidential records, President Trump (or his designee, including a neutral designee such as a special master) has an absolute right of access to same under the PRA. 44 U.S.C. § 2205(3). Accordingly, President Trump (and, by extension, a requested special master) cannot be denied access to those documents….
The DOJ wants to say that its decision overrides everything else and cannot be challenged or even scrutinized, by the courts or anyone else.
The DOJ is going full Orwell.
NOTE: Somewhat related, from lawyer Leslie McAdoo Gordon (her resume is here):
I’ll have more to say later, but the bottom line is, after 26 years, & especially the last few, I have come to an inescapable conclusion: there is no justice to be had in our “justice” system. I am no longer willing to participate in a system that I consider to be a total farce.
My status as a practicing litigator has constrained me from speaking truth to and about the system. With that constraint removed, I will not be silent any longer.
The state of our institutions – particularly the criminal “justice” ones, but also the federal civil courts – is dire, & is unacceptable for a functioning republic. They must be radically overhauled & reformed, & a renewed emphasis on first principles restored.
Lawyers working from inside the system can make some changes, but not the radical reforms that we now need. Some of us will need to be outside the system to do what is necessary & what can only be done by speaking freely.
That can’t be done by me personally unless I no longer have clients whose interests I am honor-bound to place above those of the system and the nation. So, I am changing that to chart a new course.
Not sure what that course would be, though. The problem is, as they say, systemic. And the legal education system has been perpetuating it for decades.
Fully Orwellian indeed! Last night on Tucker’s program, he interviewed a woman from NJ (Lisa Gallagher) who was nowhere near the Capitol on the day of the “insurrection” (worse than Pearl Harbor and 9/11) but had posted her support for Trump on social media. This truly terrible expression of an utterly unacceptable opinion had led a “tipster” to warn the FBI of a potentially dangerous person, who was, as a result, visited at her home by armed agents of our very own Stasi. Some may doubt the veracity of this young woman’s tale, but that it seems plausible is a sad commentary on what has happened to our system of (in)justice.
“The DOJ is going full Orwell. neo
“I have come to an inescapable conclusion: there is no justice to be had in our “justice” system.” lawyer Leslie McAdoo Gordon
Upon what basis is there for asserting the current US Federal Government to have any remaining legitimacy?
The left has mocked the work of Trump’s lawyers.
I read the brief, and even I, a non-lawyer could follow it. Apparently, unless the language is obtuse, it’s not good lawyering.
But then, there are apparently two versions of law in America– the one that is currently on the books and the one the left is now constructing by lawfare. Neat trick, since it bypasses the messy legislative branch.
It’s good some people like this lawyer are stepping up. However, WTH can I do? I can vote, but that’s about it. If the SHITF, I do have arms, but again if the government comes after me I doubt I’ll survive. Just thankful I now live in an area where there are many like minded people including local LEOs. Things are going to get real soon.
this was after he provided that heaping pile that was the modern zinoviev letter,
https://technofog.substack.com/p/durham-shocker-danchenko-was-a-paid
And there have been multiple Ethics Violations being filed against Trump attorney in an attempt to intimidate them. It just gets worse and worse. As said by Physicsguy, what can I do? Vote, but I live in a now Blue state. Some advise us to move but we are 76.
berman let them push a deutsch bank khazemi, an an associate of miss strzok at the sec, as a way to go after manafort and cohen,
https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1569641020010254336?s=20&t=tK6aucRqp5z5EuXX8V19vQ
Agree with lawyer Gordon but for a different reason.
I do very little litigation for a number of reasons. But I took a case on a fraudulent conveyance. I won’t get into the facts and law, but it was solid. Also, complicated.
Lawyer representing the debtor twice threatened me with attorney fees for frivolous litigation. I got in touch with a lawyer who he had pulled this on before.Based on his tip, I then went on Westlaw and found nearly 60 trial court cases where he attacked the other lawyer and sought attorney’s fees. 60! I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it in 40 years.
This guy tries to intimidate other lawyers.
I think I’ve got it settled for an okay number. Not worth the time to deal with this lunatic.
If I don’t get it settled, the trial court judge is going to find out about these 60 cases.
The FBI has seized The Pillow Guy’s phone. Tried to interrogate him.
Voting is critical and every vote counts, even in blue states. If the democrats lose the popular vote it removes one of their main talking points. The worse they do, the more of the American people they in effect declare to be “a fundamental threat to democracy”.
Biden approval #s have been consistently reported to be 38%-42%
range. Personally, I don’t buy that for even a second. 25% is probably a much more accurate number. Which also identifies the number of Americans who, no matter how many lives and livelihoods are destroyed by their policies and actions are truly committed to the left.
It is not a viable political strategy for 25% of Americans to declare the other 75% to be “a fundamental threat to democracy”. “That dog won’t hunt” and trying to make it stick will make the political blowback in 2024 unsurvivable for the democrat party.
Which of course leaves aside the fact that we are not a democracy but a republic. Something that elected Republicans should be repeatedly pointing out at every opportunity.
The thing is, you can’t intimidate people in the privacy of the voting booth and the more Americans are spit upon by the left’s policies and consequential results, the wider will spread contempt for the democrat party.
If they manage to move Trump off the political chessboard including his prominent supporters, it will not lessen the 70+ million Americans opposed to the left’s policies and actions, who will simply vote for republicans this Nov. and for De Santis in 2024.
It’s always darkest before the dawn, which is why now when things seem darkest, it’s hard to see that the democrat party is actually destroying its credibility as a political force. Their ideological fanaticism will ensure their continued self-destruction.
Biden and the democrats have effectively declared the 70+ million voters who support Trump to be in insurrection against the legitimate American government.
If they succeed in actually outlawing the Republican party with republican candidates eliminated from the ballot, they will only ensure that they reap the most terrible of whirlwinds.
I’d also like to think it is unassailable, but the first thing that came to mind was a quote supposedly from Pompey the Great:
There are multiple ways to assail many things, and even if methods such as the law or reason cannot work, there is always naked force.
miguel,
Extremely important article from Technofog.
Vital.
Excellent to hear from them after so long (at least as far as I can tell).
Similarly, been a while since I’ve heard anything from Durham; and I wonder whether the current full-bore “Biden” onslaught, starting with the MAL raid, is meant, at least in part, to intimidate Durham.
If so, they may have targeted the wrong guy (from what I’ve heard of Durham); nonetheless, Garland has some higher up (Jake Sullivan’s wife?) “shadowing” Durham and no doubt trying to figure out how to hobble and undermine his investigation.
Call me paranoid…but I keep wondering at what point “Biden” will shut down Durham…and how “he” will go about doing it…
Getting very sure the Democrats/ Marxists/Deep State will bring a late October surprise and send a indictment on DJT too late for his side to do anything before the election.
@Skip-
I agree that that will happen but no matter.
The term “October Surprise” has become a misnomer. It’s now “October Business as Usual.”
The number of people who will wake up one morning in October to the news that “now they finally got Trump!” and decide to act on that news is very small.
We like to refer to people who get excited about this type of stuff as living in a “Bubble,” but that also is a misnomer, or at least a misconception.
It’s more like they are living in a Snow Globe. Their world gets upended by the latest “news,” and everything looks different to them, at least for a few minutes.
Then, everything settles down and looks exactly the same as it did before their world got upended.
To those of us (the great majority) who do not live inside the Snow Globe, it was a minor perturbation in a system that we are completely isolated from, and of no effect.
I don’t want my phone seized, or my bank accounts frozen, but I do want to keep my freedom.
Keeping my head down and my powder dry (metaphorically and literally).
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/capitol-police-whistleblower-memo-lays-out-jan-6-intelligence-failures-pelosi
j e on September 13, 2022 at 5:11 pm said:
Some may doubt the veracity of this young woman’s tale
Start recording every interaction with agents of the gov’t. EVERY interaction.
For the promulgation of the truth and for your own protection.
physicsguy on September 13, 2022 at 5:41 pm said:
However, WTH can I do? I can vote, but that’s about it.
You can evangelize. Evangelize Christian morals and the American philosophy. Evangelize the electorate into governing themselves again, and believing in Life, Liberty (not libertinism), and Property.
It is the only way we get our Republic back.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams
our Constitution requires “sufficient virtue among men for self-government,” otherwise, “nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.” James Madison
Geoffrey Britain on September 13, 2022 at 10:21 pm said:
Biden approval #s have been consistently reported to be 38%-42%
range. Personally, I don’t buy that for even a second. 25% is probably a much more accurate number.
38-42 is what they think they can make look accurate. And it’s enough they can claim a surge for the sudden appearance of the other 8-12% votes.
Oh
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-unseals-additional-portions-heavily-redacted-trump-mar-a-lago-affidavit
Miguel, they were, um, NOT “intelligence failures”.
Pelosi DID NOT WANT that there would be any LE presence OR National Guard backup for the “INSURRECTION”—i.e., aside from “her” Capitol Police.
(Now why might that be…?)
https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1570042838590562306
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Julie Kelly’s thread (starve Twitter)
DOJ filed ANOTHER motion yesterday begging Judge Cannon not to permit a third party to review what prosecutors insist are classified documents stolen from Trump’s home.
The desperation is palpable. What are they hiding?
GOALPOST shift alert. Now DOJ claims the IC (led by former Brennan lackey and Obama confidant Avril Haines) must determine whether Trump’s declassification of docs was legit.
The old “sources and methods” BS:
On this point alone, Cannon should deny stay motion. First, no reason to trust FBI with anything. Second, FBI is leading criminal investigation so conflict here is obvious.
They REALLY REALLY REALLY don’t want a special master to vet their claims. Why? Because they’re lying
Leslie McAdoo Gordon is sane, smart, extremely principled and fearless.
I used to read her twitter feed regularly and found her very impressive.
That she feels compelled to take this step must be viewed as a significant effort to fight against a government, and DOJ, that have gone totally out of control; totally rogue.
Judge Cannon denies DOJ motion and appoints special master.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/09/mar-a-lago-raid-judge-rejects-doj-request-for-partial-stay-appoints-special-master/
https://legalinsurrection.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Trump-v.-USA-Order-Denying-Motion-for-Partial-Stay-Pending-Appeal-9-15-2022.pdf
Interestingly, Judge Cannon here picked Judge Dearie, a Reagan nominated District Court, and former FISC judge (when the Carter Page FISA warrants were approved) as the special master. This latter could prove pivotal, since many of the documents that were marked classified that the FBI seized are likely in the trance of RussiaGate documents ordered declassified by Trump, and Dearie, as a FISC judge, probably knows more about the scandal than the DOJ would like.