Chris Lange, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
A federal judge on Thursday overruled a special master order requiring former President Trump to file final objections to the accuracy of the FBI’s inventory list of items seized in a raid on Mar-a-Lago last month.
The ruling essentially means that Trump will not have to provide the court with evidence supporting his claims that some of the items seized were “planted” or declassified in order for the special master review to begin.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon issued the order after special master U.S. Senior Judge Raymond Dearie last week ordered Trump’s lawyers to provide a declaration of affidavit listing specific items in the Justice Department’s property inventory they claim were not seized in the raid or that were declassified by the former president.
Dearie, who had been appointed by Cannon, over the Department of Justice’s objections, to review around 11,000 items seized in the August raid, had also ordered Trump’s legal team to provide a list of seized items they claim were inaccurately described by the FBI and those for which they claim the bureau provided inaccurate locations regarding where they were found.
“This submission shall be plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed property inventory,” Dearie wrote in the filing last week.
Trump’s lawyers filed a complaint with the court on Wednesday arguing that Dearie’s order went beyond the scope of his authority, an assertion to which Judge Cannon appeared to concur, stating that the order had not been envisioned in her initial ruling appointing Dearie to review the documents to determine whether any fall under attorney-client or executive privileges.
“There shall be no separate requirement on [Trump] at this stage, prior to the review of any of the seized materials, to lodge ex-ante final objections to the accuracy of [the government’s] inventory, its descriptions, or its contents,” Cannon wrote in her order.
“The court’s appointment order did not contemplate that obligation,” she added.
The Justice Department, which was also ordered to provide a sworn statement attesting to the accuracy of the inventory, has amended its list to include 53 additional documents.
Cannon also approved Dearie’s request to appoint retired U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein to assist him in carrying out his duties which Dearie said may require “complex case management, privilege review, warrant procedures, and other matters that may arise in the course of the Special Master’s duties.” Neither the government nor Trump’s legal team objected to the request. Orenstein will be paid $500 per hour in his advisory role.
Dearie, who also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, signed off on a controversial FISA warrant to surveil Trump campaign aide Carter Page, who was key in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.
This article was partially informed by Reuters and Fox News reports.