Judge Cannon appoints special master to review material seized in the MAL raid
Judge Cannon isn’t buying the DOJ’s argument to oppose the appointment of a special master.
See also this as well as this. From the latter:
First, Cannon directed [newly-appointed Special Master] Dearie to “review all of the materials” seized during the Mar-a-Lago raid, something the DOJ desperately wanted to avoid, especially for the documents it segregated as marked classified.
Second, Dearie must verify that the property listed in the “Detailed Property Inventory” “represents the full and accurate extent of the property seized.” Here Cannon suggests that Dearie may consider obtaining sworn affidavits from individuals involved in the raid. While not a failsafe, the sworn affidavits will lessen the chance that agents omitted (or added) items from the property inventory list.
Judge Cannon also directed the special master to review the documents for privilege, including for formal assertions of “executive privilege.” This represents another victory for Trump because the DOJ has been adamant that Trump has no right to assert “executive privilege.” But without knowing what documents the DOJ has, Trump lacks the ability to develop an argument that he retains some vestiges of executive privilege.
Knowing what documents the DOJ has, in fact, proves the biggest victory for Trump from yesterday’s order. Cannon ensured that Trump’s legal team can learn the specifics of what was seized, with, most significantly, the court ordering the DOJ to make any documents with classification markings to be made available “for inspection by Plaintiff’s counsel, with controlled access conditions (including necessary clearance requirements) and under the supervision of the Special Master.” The government must also provide copies of all other documents to Trump’s lawyers and for nondocumentary items, the DOJ must make them available to Trump’s attorneys for inspection.
More at the link. There is also a November 30 deadline for the special master, which places it after the midterm election. The DOJ plans to appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, but it remains to be seen how quickly and effectively that could happen. And then there’s always SCOTUS.
Here are some quotes from the judge’s order denying the DOJ motion for a stay:
… [T]he Court declines to conduct a subset-by-subset, piecemeal analysis of the seized property, based entirely on the Government’s representations about what is contained in a select portion of the property…
…[E]venhanded procedure does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice…
… [T]he principles of equity require the Court to consider the specific context at issue, and that consideration is inherently impacted by the position formerly held by Plaintiff. The Court thus continues to endeavor to serve the public interest, the principles of civil and criminal procedure, and the principles of equity. And the Court remains firmly of the view that appointment of a special master to conduct a review of the seized materials, accompanied by a temporary injunction to avoid unwarranted use and disclosure of potentially privileged and/or personal materials, is fully consonant with the foregoing principles and with the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under unprecedented circumstances.
That’s stating the obvious, and yet the DOJ pretends it’s not.
More:
The Judge also placed significance on the leaks of information about the supposed documents AFTER the seizure by the FBI – meaning if anyone has been a threat to national security relating to the documents, it’s the feds…
Nice little slap on the wrist for the DOJ, which leaks like the proverbial sieve and then pretends it’s concerned with leaks. But the only leaks it’s concerned with are leaks that might reflect poorly on the DOJ.
Dearie sits on the district court for the Eastern District of Brooklyn, where he has taken senior status – meaning his workload has been lightened significantly as he nears the end of his time on the federal bench.
He was appointed as a judge by Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was for a time the chief judge of the Brooklyn-based district court. He also served a seven-year term, concluding in 2019, on the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
In his role as a FISA judge, Dearie was one of the judges who approved one of the Justice Department’s request to surveil former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page as part of the federal inquiry into Russia 2016 election interference.
Remember way back when we kept asking who these FISA judges were who allowed Russiagate to go forward? Well, apparently Dearie was one of them. However, a theory that’s long been entertained is that some of these judges may be angry at having been deceived by the FBI and DOJ. Perhaps Dearie is one of those, as well.
“Cannon suggests that Dearie may consider obtaining sworn affidavits from individuals involved in the raid”.
I would not trust any sworn affidavit from those people. They Lie, and get away with it.
In consideration of the meme “I have incriminating evidence that would lead to Hillary Clinton’s arrest” and another famous meme; I’ll posit that Judge Cannon did not kill herself.
Setting aside the tardiness of Trump’s request for a special master; Judge Cannon’s ruling, if it is allowed to stand, brings me some level of confidence there are green shoots in what is otherwise the destroyed waste land that is the US judicial system. Perhaps green shoots are the wrong analogy considering Judge Dearie’s history and current situation.
Alas, all of this will have its intended effect. Already Trump is the discussion heading into the 2022 election, when the discussion should be about Biden and Democrats disastrous 2 years. While Biden’s speech and the weaponization of the DOJ are grave concerns that need attention, the GOP has plenty of winning arguments related to the loss of Afghanistan, the depletion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, the increasing dependence on foreign oil, the damnation of Saudi Arabia while begging for their oil, defying the Saudis and Israelis by brokering a deal with Iran, the threats of blackouts in California and elsewhere, rising energy prices, rising inflation, rising interest rates, decline in public education, increase in sex education for kindergarteners, the labeling of concerned parents as terrorists, and looming food shortages. Just a few things more important than whatever happens to Trump, not because Trump isn’t important and particularly misbehavior by the DOJ against Trump; but that anything negative about Trump bolsters Democrats and demoralizes Republicans.
Still grateful, Judge Cannon is doing the right thing.
how many are making them except for masters, vance and a few others that come to mind, mcconnell is pulling money away from masters, because reasons, we know too well. justice deferred, is justice denied, you can’t tell me that has not been born out,
I’ve been pretty skeptical about that theory. A powerful feature of secret judges on secret courts is that there’s no real accountability. A FISA judge can more or less approve whatever investigation they want as far as I can tell. Has there been any consequences for the FISA judges who approved the Trump-Russia collusion nonsense?
Consequences should be for those who presented the court with evidence they knew was fake, not for the judges who took them at their word.
Perhaps I’m being naive, but I expect judges to be more discriminating in terms of what warrants they approve. My understanding is that FISA has essentially been a rubber stamp court, approving something like 99.9% of all 702 warrants. Call me crazy, but that seems a little careless.
miguel cervantes:
I’m not a McConnell fan, but I don’t automatically assume this is happening for pernicious reasons – although of course it might be. However, the money is not unlimited, and they put it where they think they can get the most bang for their bucks at a certain time. Right now, for example, a lot of money is going to Vance and not to Masters, but they’re saying it will probably go to Masters later (I found an article on this yesterday but didn’t bookmark it, and can’t seem to find it again at the moment).
if he hadn’t done in previous cycles, I would agree with you, in 2010 and 2012,
they spent 30 million against roy moore, enabling that unscrupulous scoundrel doug jones to get in, this was the death rattle prior to the 2018 collapse,
and you see how little he has cared to speak on a issue of fundamental fairness,
now graham who was snoring in some cloakroom now takes up the partial birth issue, as if he and rubio really cared about that,
miguel cervantes:
I don’t know about Graham’s history on abortion, but Rubio has been a hardliner on the subject for a long long time. Whether their proposal is politically expedient (I don’t think it is) or not, I believe Rubio at least is quite sincere.
miguel cervantes:
Of course McConnell has done “it” in previous cycles. What is this “it” whereof you speak? Of course he puts money where he thinks it’s best spent, and has a tendency to support more moderate candidates who both reflect his own positions and who are polling pretty well against their opponents. He’s also put money behind Trump-friendly and more extreme candidates.
I don’t think the evidence that this is some sort of sabotage by McConnell is very strong. I also don’t buy the idea that he doesn’t want the GOP to control the Senate. I just don’t see evidence of it that convinces me. Most of the chatter about it is destructive clickbait, IMHO. It’s an old story, and not just with McConnell.
I’d actually prefer someone more to the right of McConnell to be the leader of the GOP in the Senate, but I don’t demonize him to the extent that many people do.
Judge Cannon appears to be a throwback to a time when judges ruled in accordance with the Constitution. The DOJ found nothing prosecutable in their raid for if they had, they’d have no problem with a special master. As the master would confirm Trump had committed proscecutable offences.
They object to the master because that will result in the collapse of their propagandistic innuendo.
Leland,
“Already Trump is the discussion heading into the 2022 election, when the discussion should be about Biden and Democrats disastrous 2 years.”
No discussion is needed. Everyone knows of the oncoming disaster that the democrats have wrought and where responsibility for it rightfully lies. Those who now vote for democrats reveal that they place ideology over their fellow citizen’s livelihoods and even lives.
Those who seek to abrogate other people’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”… forfeit their own claim to those rights.
Vance and Masters both excellent candidates. Ohio/Arizona get with it!
the republic hangs by a thread, and he’s still playing the same old games, shelling our side, handing out feathers to the Enemy,
any clearheaded observer, could see the doj didn’t have a case, but the Kultursmog (ht emmett tyrell) has reached northeaster dimensions,
I simply disagree that no discussion is needed. While polls are poor predictors, they do so trends, and talk of Trump is, to repeat myself, having the intended effect. Trump isn’t President and isn’t the threat to Americans paying their bills, feeding their family, and next year facing an IRS audit. Democrats have no defense of this beyond flat out lies. It isn’t gaslighting anymore, it is bald face lies. Ignoring Paul Krugman, no serious economist believes a bill passed 4 weeks ago will have any impact on inflation or any other macro-economic policy. The only way the US government could lower inflation in 4 weeks would be the federal reserve collecting $1,000,000,000,000 in federal reserve notes and then burning them in a large bonfire. Even then, the destabilization of the currency would be enough to take weeks to figure out just what it did. Inflation is here. High energy prices are here. Democrats are running ads claiming they resolved those problems, but they have not, and anyone that claims otherwise needs to be read the laundry list of lies against reality.
Whether Trump is indicted or not is irrelevant to control of Congress come January. If Republicans can’t takeover Congress, then the Supreme Court won’t be enough to protect our Republic. Already, Biden is creating EOs that appropriate hundreds of billions without a peep from Congress. With his speech, the weaponization of the DOJ, and the ability to spend money without legislative checks; we are already in a dictatorship. Trump’s indictment will only be the most recognizable start of the purging of undesirables.
Follow up
https://mobile.twitter.com/mrddmia/status/1570961258891079680?cxt=HHwWgMDTgaK8ls0rAAAA
Leland – “Whether Trump is indicted or not is irrelevant to control of Congress come January.”
I must disagree. If Trump is handled roughly while Biden’s son and thousands of real rioters are handled with kid gloves, a lot of us are going to want to teach Slow Joe a lesson he will never forget… okay, that’s a figure of speech, but you know what I mean!