Raymond Dearie, nominated as special master by Donald Trump's lawyers, wants the ex-president 'to put up or shut up' on his declassification of documents.
Judge Aileen Cannon last week appointed Dearie as special master after Trump's lawyers successfully argued that an independent arbiter was needed to set aside documents subject to attorney-client or executive privilege seized in the search.
Dearie, a senior judge for the Eastern District of New York who was suggested for the position by Trump's team, asked both sides to bring up any issues ahead of an initial meeting scheduled for Tuesday in the Brooklyn Federal Court Building. In their filing, Trump's lawyers said Dearie's initial plan to review the documents by November 30 required them to"disclose specific information regarding declassification to the Court and to the Government." Lawyers for Trump argued that disclosure should instead come in a motion to have the property returned.
"Otherwise, the Special Master process will have forced the Plaintiff to fully and specifically disclose a defense to the merits of any subsequent indictment without such a requirement being evident in the District Court's order," Trump's lawyers said in the filing.