Judge Raymond Dearie appointed as special master to examine documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property
Trump’s legal team had initially proposed Dearie to be the special master in the high-profile case and the Justice Department agreed with the selection last week. But the two groups still disagree on whether searching through the highly sensitive classified documents should be part of the special master’s responsibilities.
Ultimately, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ruled in Trump’s favor and said the special master should examine the classified documents, though she said Dearie should prioritize those materials. She denied a bid by prosecutors to allow them to use the seized material before the special master conducts the review.
In her Thursday night ruling, Cannon rejected Justice Department arguments that her decision to prohibit investigators from using the seized information while the special master conducts his review will cause serious harm to the national security investigation.Even-handed application of legal rules “does not demand unquestioning trust in the determinations of the Department of Justice,” Cannon wrote in a decision that is almost certainly to be appealed by the government.