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Donald Trump blasted the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday in a new court filing rebutting federal prosecutors’ appeal to stop the appointment of a special master to review documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago.
In the 21-page court filing, he dismissed the investigation as a ‘misguided storage dispute’ while appearing vague on the nature of whether documents in his possession were classified.
He also defended his storage of the documents, claiming they were kept in a secure location – despite the DOJ claiming some top secret records were found in his personal desk drawers.
It comes after the DOJ argued that pausing its probe while the files are reviewed by a third-party would cause ‘irreparable harm’ to national security, according to a Thursday court filing. Federal prosecutors asked for exceptions to the order when it comes to documents marked ‘classified.’
Trump raised speculation on Sunday night when he flew into the Washington, DC area unannounced, still wearing his golf shoes, with no formal reason given for his arrival.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon delivered the former president a victory with her decision last week by approving his request to appoint a special master in order to review documents seized by the FBI for whether they fall under any privilege claims.
The Trump appointee also ordered the DOJ to pause its probe of the files pending the completion of the special master’s review.
In their Monday filing, Trump’s legal team defended Cannon’s decision as a ‘sensible preliminary step towards restoring order from chaos.’
‘In what at its core is a document storage dispute that has spiraled out of control, the Government wrongfully seeks to criminalize the possession by the 45th President of his own Presidential and personal records,’ the 21-page filing states.
Donald Trump was spotted making a hasty arrival at Dulles International Airport on Sunday night
Trump appeared to be wearing golf shoes, a polo and a brown jacket when he deplaned without his usually large entourage
The Justice Department released a blistering legal filing that included a photo of documents seized during the August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. Seen at right is a framed Time magazine cover
But despite arguing that the documents were ‘his own,’ Trump’s lawyers later appear to concede that some may belong to the federal government – but maintain they should not be in the DOJ’s possession.
‘What is clear regarding all of the seized materials is that they belong with either President Trump (as his personal property to be returned pursuant to Rule 41(g)) or with NARA, but not with the Department of Justice,’ the filing states.
Trump’s filing also took issue with the DOJ’s request for a limited stay on Cannon’s order to only apply to classified documents – but stops short of claiming Trump already declassified them.
‘The Government’s stance assumes that if a document has a classification marking, it remains classified irrespective of any actions taken during President Trump’s term in office,’ it states.
The ex-president’s lawyers have appeared hesitant to make that claim in court despite Trump insisting in multiple public interviews and statements that he had not taken classified documents because he had waived their secrecy as commander-in-chief.
However in their court filing, Trump’s lawyers directly contradict him by stating the Biden administration has ‘not proven these records remain classified,’ adding that it’s a topic ‘to be determined later.’
Donald Trump ripped the Justice Department’s motion to appeal Judge Aileen Cannon’s order in a new 21-page court filing
Despite ordering the FBI to temporarily halt its probe, Cannon did let allow a separate review of the documents by the intelligence community to move forward.
Federal prosecutors argued Thursday that allowing one without the other is unworkable, ‘given that the same senior DOJ and FBI officials are ultimately responsible for supervising the criminal investigation and for ensuring that DOJ and FBI are coordinating appropriately with the [Intelligence Community]’ on its own review.
And even if the DOJ’s appeal is quashed, a joint filing made late on Friday indicates that both parties also widely differ on their advice for a special master. Each side put forward two candidates.
The Justice Department suggested retired Southern District of New York Judge Barbara Jones, who presided as a special master in the investigations of Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani.
It also put forward retired D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Griffith.
Trump’s team named former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Raymond Dearie as one of their two candidates. Dearie is a surprising choice for Trump – while on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, he approved a search warrant to surveil Trump 2016 campaign aide Carter Page.
They also suggested attorney Paul Huck Jr., a former adviser to Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist when he was the Republican governor of Florida.
The opposing sides even disagreed on how long the review should take. The Justice Department asked for it to be completed in just over a month, by October 17.
Trump, who had been known for his attempts to delay and muddle legal challenges in his career as a businessman, asked for a 90-day window. That would mean it’s not completed until after the November midterm elections.
The former president’s latest legal filing comes after he set off a firestorm of speculation on Sunday night with an unannounced trip to Washington, DC.
Trump was taped by Youtuber Andrew Leyden arriving at Dulles International Airport dressed down in white golf shoes, a polo and a brown jacket at around 6:30 p.m. He does have a golf course near the area, but Monday’s rainy forecast makes the prospect of a game unlikely.
It appears he might be in town for the America First Policy Institute’s celebration of the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords, a cornerstone of Trump’s Middle East policy.
His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was a senior adviser in Trump’s administration, is slated to be the keynote speaker.
Hours before his arrival at Dulles, Trump’s original political rival Hillary Clinton said he should be treated like any other private citizen when it comes to weighing criminal charges in the DOJ’s probe.
‘He’s not the president – and we do have some special exceptions for someone actually in the office – so I do think that just like any American, if there is evidence that evidence should be pursued. But I know it’s not an easy call,’ Clinton told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
‘And so I don’t want to inject, you know, my opinion into that difficult calculation because I don’t know all the facts. And unlike people who jump to conclusions, I don’t want to do that.’
She added, ‘But if the evidence proves or seems to show that there are charges that should be leveled, then I think the rule of law should apply to anyone.’