“Trump’s team miscalculated”: Experts say Trump’s handpicked special master just called his “bluff”

Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys on Tuesday refused to back up his claims that he “declassified” secret documents found at his Mar-a-Lago resort in response to a request from the special master that they sought.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, last week appointed longtime federal Judge Raymond Dearie as a special master to review some 11,000 documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s team included Dearie on their list of proposed special masters, reportedly because of their belief that he is deeply skeptical of the FBI, but the Justice Department agreed to the choice, citing his “previous federal judicial experience and engagement in relevant areas of law.” Dearie this week offered a proposed draft plan for the review that included a request for Trump’s lawyers to submit any details related to Trump’s repeated claim that he “declassified” the documents before taking them home, according to Politico.

Trump’s lawyers, who have not made a single mention of Trump’s dubious declassification claim in court documents, immediately balked at the special master’s request, writing that the details could be used in a defense against potential future criminal charges.

Trump’s attorneys wrote in a letter to Dearie that it was not the “time and place” for them to turn over the details because it would force Trump to “fully and specifically disclose a defense on the merits of any subsequent indictment  without such a requirement being evident in the District Court’s order.”

Trump’s team also pushed back on Dearie’s request that they submit their claims related to the search of Mar-a-Lago to Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who has repeatedly been attacked by Trump after signing off on the search warrant.

Trump’s lawyers also took issue with Dearie’s plan to complete the entire “inspection and labeling process” by October 7 after Cannon allocated two months for the review process.

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Other legal experts suggested that Trump’s lawyers refused to turn over the details to avoid their own legal trouble.

“Trump’s team is resisting,” wrote Ryan Goodman, a professor at NYU School of Law. “Smells like they want to avoid lying to court.”

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, who served on special counsel Bob Mueller’s team, agreed that Trump’s lawyers likely “don’t want to lie and be disbarred and subject their client to a criminal false statement charge.”

“Trump team ruing the day it proposed Judge Dearie,” he tweeted.

“I’ve seen enough,” wrote former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. “Trump’s team miscalculated by asking for Judge Dearie to serve as special master.”

“Trump’s team miscalculated”: Experts say Trump’s handpicked special master just called his “bluff” (msn.com)