Dearie asks Trump lawyers whether they believe FBI lied about seized documents
Source: Washington Post
The Mar-a-Lago special master on Thursday ordered Donald Trump’s lawyers to state in a court filing whether they believe FBI agents lied about documents seized from the former president’s Florida residence in a court-authorized search last month, or claimed to have taken items that were not actually in Trump’s possession.
In a Thursday afternoon filing, U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie — the special master — told Trump’s legal team to state by Sept. 30 whether they believe any of the seized items were incorrectly described in the Justice Department’s 11-page inventory list, which said some of the documents were highly classified. Dearie also told them to say whether they are claiming that any items on the inventory list were not in fact taken from the premises. Trump has said on social media and in television interviews that the FBI planted items and described as classified documents that he had declassified when they searched his Mar-A-Lago residence and private club on Aug. 8.
His lawyers have not asserted that in court, however, instead saying they have not reviewed the seized materials and are unable to confirm whether the government’s inventory list is accurate. Dearie’s order marks the first time that a courts has demanded that Trump’s lawyers back up his claims. “The submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory,” he wrote. It’s a striking difference from how Judge Aileen Cannon — the Florida-based judge who granted Trump’s request to appoint a special master earlier this month — has handled her part of the case.
Cannon never asked Trump’s lawyers to explain why they thought the inventory list may be inaccurate or why they implied that some of the documents that were labeled as classified were not actually classified. Dearie gave the government — which is investigating the potential mishandling of classified information at Mar-a-Lago — until Monday to submit a statement declaring whether its inventory list is a full and accurate representation of what was seized. The government must also later respond to any factual disputes that Trump’s team raises in its filings.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/22/dearie-trump-order-declassify/
No paywall link
= new reply since forum marked as read
Judge Cannon has already proven that she cannot be fair or impartial.
thinking about them, why worry? 
"Some people say you can do that, and it's perfectly legal". 
Please produce affidavits from these people, Mr. Trump. Tell them to provide their CVs as well.
What a dipshit. 
You have him down to a T. 
I'm surprised he didn't say that on Hannity. Maybe he's saving it for tonight.
Simple look at the list. If you didn’t have possession of something on there, now is your chance to say so.
would be my defense... I know nuttin. And if they found my fingerprints I just say "well I may have touched this in 2017!" Now if the government has a video of me sitting in that room reading through the docs, that's a 100% different story 
The lawyer, no matter what he "believes", is obligated to defend his client. If he stands in court and says he doesn't believe the client, that seems like grounds for appeal, incompetent representation or something like that.
It just seems like a dumb question, even if all parties "know", with a wink and a nod, that the client is slinging bullshit.
is asking them to basically clarify and attest to what they believe the problems were with the search process and what was seized. They had a hearing earlier in the week and I think this is probably more fallout from that. Another part of the OP article notes this -
Dearie’s order, in essence, demands that Trump’s lawyers back up their client’s claims. “This submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory,” he wrote.
At a hearing Tuesday, Dearie pressed Trump’s lawyers to take a position on whether the classified documents were, as Trump has said, declassified, but they demurred.
(snip)
The government is also given an opportunity to address any assertions of impropriety, the veracity of their seizure, and accuracy of the inventory of what was to be taken, and what was actually taken.
But note that what they are doing isn't a "trial" with some outcome that can be "appealed". It's setting up the ground rules for document review - which is going to be looking at some 11,000 items, and that will now exclude anything that was marked as "Classified" (at any level).
The last time something like this got "in the news" was when Michael Cohen had a Special Master assigned to go through the items collected from his apartment, office, and a hotel room he was using.
Allan Smith
Aug 16, 2018, 6:39 PM
(snip)
The special master overseeing the document review in the federal investigation into Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former longtime lawyer, has ruled that roughly 0.2% of the more than 4 million documents seized by the FBI from the attorney are covered by attorney-client privilege.
Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge appointed to oversee the review, wrote in her final report to US District Judge Kimba Wood on Thursday that nearly 7,500 documents were either privileged, highly personal, or partially privileged. Cohen claimed privilege over slightly more than 12,000 of the 4 million-plus documents, and is not challenging any of Jones's rulings with Wood.
In a filing that was posted shortly after Jones's final report, Wood wrote that the parties must file any objections to Jones's determinations to the court by Friday evening.
Cohen is the focus of a criminal investigation in the Southern District of New York into whether he violated campaign-finance laws, committed bank fraud or wire fraud, engaged in illegal lobbying, or participated in other crimes. The FBI raided Cohen's home, hotel room, and office in April, seizing more than 4 million documents from Trump's longtime lawyer.
(snip)
https://www.businessinsider.com/special-master-rules-few-michael-cohen-documents-privileged-2018-8
However little of that process ever got dissected in the media like what is going on right now!
I hereby award him this:
And lots of people were badly mistaken.
Thanks for the updates and explanations, my friend!
So far since the 2020 elections and the 60+ idiotic lawsuits from the Kracken crew (and their GOP state/federal supporters), almost all of the cases - many with rulings by 45-appointed judges - failed, some even not only including similar scathing rebukes, but "dismissing with prejudice".
