Report: Trump Wants 2 Seized Folders Excluded From DOJ Probe
(Newsmax/"Wake Up America")
By Charles Kim | Saturday, 08 October 2022 11:17 AM EDT
Former President Donald Trump wants two folders seized during the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida withheld from the Department of Justice's criminal probe regarding his handling of documents, The Guardian reported Friday.
Citing filings in the court case, The Guardian said the former president wants "two red folders" containing correspondence with the National Archives and Records Administration and three "signing sheets" excluded from material turned over to the criminal investigation.
Raymond J. Dearie, the federal judge serving as special master in the case, said in an order Friday that some 30 documents are to be turned over to the "case team" by Oct. 10 because there is no assertion by Trump of either executive or attorney-client privilege.
He also ordered that "Filter B" materials be returned to Trump by Oct. 10, but the order did not say how many documents that entailed.
Remaining "Filter A and Filter C" materials will be reviewed by Dearie and a report made as to whether they contain privileged documents, the order said.
The next telephone status conference on the case is scheduled for Oct. 18.
The Guardian report said that Trump is trying to withhold folders containing letters from NARA and is also asserting executive privilege over more than 35 documents of the "president's calls," according to the report.
Reuters reported Tuesday that Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case and strike down a lower court ruling that is stopping Dearie from reviewing 100 documents marked as "classified."
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also is allowing the DOJ to examine disputed documents while the special master evaluation is taking place, contradicting trial Judge Aileen Cannon's ruling that the DOJ not use disputed documents in the criminal probe until after the review was complete.
In their filing in the case Tuesday, Trump's attorneys said Dearie should be able to "determine whether documents bearing classification markings are in fact classified, and regardless of classification, whether those records are personal records or presidential records," according to Reuters.
"[DOJ] attempted to criminalize a document management dispute and now vehemently objects to a transparent process that provides much-needed oversight," Trump's legal team said in the documents.
The appeal to the Supreme Court will be reviewed by Justice Clarence Thomas, who reviews emergency appeals from the 11th Circuit and has requested a response from the DOJ by Oct. 11.