The U.S. Justice Department and Donald Trump's attorneys are vying for different candidates to serve as a special master to review records the FBI seized from the former president's Florida estate, both sides said on Friday, and they disagree over whether classified records should be excluded from the review. In a joint filing on Friday evening, the U.S. Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that Trump's legal team is insisting that the special master should be allowed to review "all seized materials, including documents with classification markings." Trump's lawyers also want the special master, an independent third party, to review the records for possible executive privilege claims — a mandate the department opposes. Each side proposes 2 candidatesThe Justice Department said it is proposing two candidates for special master: retired judge Barbara Jones, who previously served as a special master in cases involving two of Trump's former lawyers, or retired judge Thomas Griffith. The filing came after Cannon, a Trump appointee in Fort Pierce, Fla., ordered the appointment of a special master arbiter on Monday, granting a request by Trump.

Source: The Guardian September 10, 2022 08:04 UTC