MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2022) The US Department of Justice does not object to the candidate for special master � a neutral reviewer of case evidence � proposed by former President Donald Trump to study secret documents found during an FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last month, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The Justice Department previously proposed two retired judges for the post, former federal judge of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York Barbara Jones and ex-judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Thomas Griffith. Trump opposed the candidates, and in return proposed the candidacy of Raymond Dearie, a part-time senior judge on the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and former deputy attorney general in Florida Paul Huck.
According to The New York Times, lawyers for the Justice Department said in a filing that Jones, Griffith and Dearie all had "substantial judicial experience" and were qualified for the special master's post, while Huck did not "appear to have similar experience."
Even though the Justice Department has no complaints about Trump's choice, the final decision will be made by US district judge Aileen Cannon, who is involved in the case.
On August 8, the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and examined the premises for nine hours during which they seized 11 sets of documents and other materials, some of which were labeled "Top Secret," according to the disclosed search warrant receipt.
In early September, the Justice Department revealed a detailed inventory, which outlines the general types of items in 33 boxes of documents taken from an office and a storage room in Trump's residence, mentioning 48 "empty folders with 'classified' banners" across four boxes.
On Monday, Cannon said she would allow a third-party examination of some of the documents seized during the search at Trump's estate, suspending the government investigation until the review by the special master is finished. Cannon said the decision was made taking into account the potential harm from the disclosure of Trump's personal information.
The US Justice Department has appealed the federal judge's decision to appoint the special master.
Trump has denied having classified documents and has criticized the Mar-a-Lago raid as being done by a politicized FBI and Justice Department to prevent him from running in the 2024 presidential election.
