Trump, DOJ submit candidates for special master in Mar-a-Lago documents probe

by Julia Shapero - 09/09/22 10:31 PM ET

This photo shows an aerial view of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Former President Trump and the Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday night submitted their candidates to serve as special master in the department’s investigation into documents recovered during a search of Mar-a-Lago.

The former president’s legal team proposed Raymond J. Dearie, a former district court judge in New York, and Paul Huck Jr., who previously served as general counsel to the governor of Florida and deputy attorney general for the state, to fill the position, according to court documents. The DOJ suggested Barbara S. Jones, a former district court judge in New York, and Thomas B. Griffith, a former appeals court judge in Washington, D.C.

According to the filing, the DOJ and Trump’s lawyers disagreed on how the special master should function in the case.

The former president’s lawyers want the special master to review all the materials taken in the Mar-a-Lago search, including those with classified markings, and evaluate potential executive privilege claims.

The DOJ, meanwhile, argued the special master should not review the documents with classified markings or consider executive privilege claims.

Trump’s lawyers also suggested that the two parties split the cost of the special master evenly, while the DOJ said the former president should pay for it given that he requested the special master.

The FBI searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8, saying it recovering more than 100 classified documents. A judge granted Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review the removed documents earlier this week, a ruling which the DOJ has since appealed.

— Updated at 11:05 p.m.