On Friday (September 9), former President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice submitted the names of potential candidates for the role of the special master. The special master will be appointed to review the documents the FBI seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Trump’s Legal team suggested Paul Huck Jr., a former general counsel to Florida Governor and deputy attorney General for the state. They also named Raymond J. Dearie, a former district court judge in New York, as an option.
The DOJ proposed former appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., Thomas B. Griffith, and former district court judge in New York, Barbara S. Jones.
Friday’s filings also show the DOJ and Trump’s lawyers disagree on how the special master should function.
Trump’s attorneys argue the special master should review all material taken from the Mar-a-Lago property, including those with classified markings and evaluate potential executive privilege claims.
But the DOJ doesn’t want the special master to review documents with classified markings or consider executive privilege claims.
In Friday’s filings, Trump’s lawyers suggested that the parties evenly split the cost of the special master, but the DOJ argues that Trump should pay for the expense because he requested that a special master be appointed.
The filings are the latest development in the saga, which started when the FBI raised Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on August 8, prompting Trump to request the documents be reviewed by a special master, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the request. The DOJ is appealing the ruling.
