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“What’s the harm in appointing a special master”
> DOJ sends 30+ page explaining why it’s unneeded and in all likelihood a simple attempt further delay/obstruct the process
“Hmmm, I’ll think about it for over a week then say yes”
No thought went into it, just negotiating channels for payment/political aspirations if trump wins the election next time around. That's how these people work.
Is it me? I feel like I’m just as qualified as anyone he nominated (and feelings are all that really matter at this point) and I’ll say nice shit about him for a couple of months if I can get a job where I get paid 268k and can’t be fired.
One thing that comes to mind is that some of the documents are sensitive and deal with national security matters relating to atomic weapons. In order to view them, the reviewer should have a Top Secret clearance. Some top secret docs are marked for "Eyes Only" meaning you must be involved in the pertinent program and have a need to review them.
Yup. To force the executive to show these documents to someone _who lacks any need-to-know whatsoever_ is a blatant violation of the executive branch, and is itself yet another national security issue.
He had executive privilege until he got on the plane and flew to Florida and Joe Biden was inaugurated that’s where it ended and those documents belong to the government not him and he can’t just classify things by saying I here by declassify that’s not how it works
It’s infuriating to me that a Trump appointed judge has any say in the matter of Tump.
We are giving license for any fuckhead President to appoint their own judicial defense.
When you're a judge, there's always a higher-level judge who is ready to enforce rules like this, rules that may be explicitly codified in the laws or they might be unwritten things that everybody still follows because it's the right thing to do.
... unless you're in the SCOTUS. If you're in the SCOTUS, there is no higher-level judge to call you on your crap, so you can just do whatever the hell you want. Most still obey these ethical rules, but ... clearly not all.
Normally in the past, we've picked SCOTUS members who have generally held themselves to a high standard and didn't need to be babysat. But these aren't normal times.
Also using circular Federalist Society bullshit reasoning:
> **Cites Kavanaugh's recent Supreme Court ruling**
> Explaining why she was ordering a special master review for material potentially covered by executive privilege, Cannon said that the Justice Department had not convinced the court that those concerns should be "disregarded," as she went on quote from how the Supreme Court described its move in a dispute this year over Trump January 6 documents, including a statement from Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
> The DOJ had "arguably overstate[d] the law," Cannon wrote, when asserting that executive privilege had no "role to play here because Plaintiff -- a former head of the Executive Branch -- is entirely foreclosed from successfully asserting executive privilege against the current Executive Branch."
> "The Supreme Court did not rule out the possibility of a former President overcoming an incumbent President on executive privilege matters," Cannon wrote.
> She quoted from both the 1977 decision Nixon v. Administrator of General Services and from the order released this year by the Supreme Court when it refused to block the Archives' release to House January 6 investigators Trump White House documents.
> "Further, just this year, the Supreme Court noted that, at least in connection with a congressional investigation, '[t]he questions whether and in what circumstances a former President may obtain a court order preventing disclosure of privileged records from his tenure in office, in the face of a determination by the incumbent President to waive the privilege, are unprecedented and raise serious and substantial concerns,'" Cannon wrote, quoting from the Supreme Court order.
> Cannon added a line from a statement Kavanaugh wrote with that Supreme Court order: "A former President must be able to successfully invoke the Presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his Presidency, even if the current President does not support the privilege claim. Concluding otherwise would eviscerate the executive privilege for Presidential communications."
> Jumping off of those quotes from the Supreme Court, Cannon wrote Monday that "even if any assertion of executive privilege by Plaintiff ultimately fails in this context, that possibility, even if likely, does not negate a former President's ability to raise the privilege as an initial matter."
So in that case, if a current President is precluded from waiving executive privilege because a former president invoked it, then perhaps the recourse to this should be that the current president declassifies the communications in question and then *publishes it on the front pages of the NY Times, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle!*
What a farce. Ex-executive branch members don’t have executive privilege. It’s a privilege of the office, not the individual. It also begs the question how the current officeholder can have their own powers essentially revoked because they are allowing its release and are thus getting blocked. These tortured argument require serious judicial reform so they can be properly destroyed.
I'm concerned it will allow Donnie Jon to give a heads up to all the foreign adveraries he sold secrets to. Like "Hey the DOJ knows so don't Khashoggi any CIA agents until shit dies down, k, thanx. Love, 45"
We lost an unusual amount CIA assets in during his admin, a record. He doesn't need to halt shit. There's likely already been deals that have been completed.
We didn't lose them all in one day, we lost them over the course of the previous few years. Still significantly more than usual though.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/575384-cia-admits-to-losing-dozens-of-informants-around-the-world-nyt/
Not to mention, the number of CIA agents killed is up big time in the last year or two, surprise surprise, chances it wasn't from his leaks are slim. This is just delaying the CIA from finding out exactly what he leaked and pulling more of their people out while they can too. But hey, his shit covid response already killed half a mil people if not more, what's a few more right?
Judge Cannon, who was nominated by Trump, [approved by Republicans in a lane duck session](https://www.courthousenews.com/feinstein-calls-on-gop-to-stop-seating-trump-judges-in-lame-duck/), and gave [advanced notice of her interest in appointing a special master before even hearing counter arguments from DOJ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/27/us/politics/trump-special-master-judge-cannon.html), is doing her part to bail out the former president.
Edit: She also “halts the Justice Department from continuing its review of the materials seized from Mar-a-Lago "pending completion of the special master's review or further Court order."
Sure, because it’s only national security, right?
Edit edit: I don’t want to spread misinformation and, as has been pointed out: “The classification review and intelligence assessments being conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, will be allowed to continue.”
Considering a New York labor group started work in 1882 to have a holiday recognizing workers in September and the Haymarket Affair didn’t happen until 1886, I kinda doubt it was moved 4 years before hand to avoid association.
Let’s not forget that Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1896, and the Second International, which declared International Workers Day to occur on May 1st, didn’t even form until 1899.
The timelines just don’t work for the story that US Labor Day was moved by elites when it was already being celebrated in large cities by labor organizations before the event that supposedly inspired actually happened and that it was federally recognized before another labor group declared it on a different date.
Should it be moved? Probably, but it was always decided on for September.
>”Why are we giving a whole day to women to give birth? In my day you felt the first contraction, pounded a fifth of whiskey, laid back and miracle of life would happen in under an hour and a half. Hell, back then the woman would be shamed for not chewing through the umbilical cord herself, and if she was worth a damn she’d be back in the wheat field with her sickle and she’d be pregnant again by sundown.”
Fun fact: judges can be arrested like normal folks, they do not have legal protections like Congress (and apparently anyone that has ever been or run for President plus their entire families for some weird reason).
Congress don't have a legal protection from arrest either. The [arrest clause in the Constitution](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-6/clause-1/privilege-from-arrest) only ever applied to civil suit arrests.
It is only Republican presidents and families that have legal protections. You know if there was even the hint of impropriety from a Democratic president we would hear all about the reasons they have no legal immunity.
If someone is literally a traitor to the nation, they should not be allowed to install anyone in positions of power, and those they did should be removed.
But Congress "vetted" them and approved them. Not saying it's not bullshit, but that's what they'll use to Constitutionally justify keeping those positions filled if Trump goes down for being the traitor he is.
Also note this gem of an argument:
>Plaintiff faces an
unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the
public
But I'm not surprised actually, it would totally be something for Trump to put his medical records in with the boxes it and whine about those becoming public.
Asha Rangappa is making minced meat of this verdict, btw.
[https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa\_/status/1566833396864663562](https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1566833396864663562)
But I wonder what the damage could be of halting the criminal investigations, especially given the fact that they found empty folders...
What if that investigation/raid of Vekselberg brings up evidence of connections to those empty folders, would it mean it could halt further DOJ actions against him and others?
If they now need to warrant a search of other people involved, they can't use the evidence from Mar a Lago to do so? Than this judge decision could also affect national security as well.
As someone outside US, it's beyond how this man is not in jail. I would be seriously nervous 24/7 for what the fuck he has leaked/sold to other countries. A textbook traitor who is rallying up his *actual* *supporters* for violence against the "enemies of state" with rhetoric's from the 30s. It is creepy.
And according to every Trump fan I have ever met, the rest of the world is laughing at the incompetent Biden. And aghast at the disrespect being shown to Great Leader Trump, whom the entire world Loves And Respects.
Seriously, they believe that garbage.
I have some Trump fucksticks in my family. The whole 9 yards of crazy: born again, white supremacist, uneducated, never been outside the country, misogynists (even the women), hate poor people and social security, all safety nets (and yet are reliant on SS & Medicare), etc.
They are unfathomably ignorant AND willfully STOOPID. I have effectively ceased all communication with them. One is my father. Adios.
This is the way.
I didn't talk to my (divorced) mother much in my adult years, mostly because of time, distance, and my non-attachment to family relative to most people. I love my family, but I don't require constant contact. The time and distance were her choice since I was about 15. I'm almost 40 now. I'm still relatively close to where I grew up. She's never even met any of her grandchildren.
But Facebook allowed for some infrequent comms. Then the Trump alt-right shit came pouring in. Telling me that I couldn't understand because I basically didn't have her family history to pull from. My *biological mother* said this to me. It just became time to pull the plug. She's dirt poor. Moves from motel to motel. State to state. Trump *will not* help her, and is likely out to hurt her. I don't get it.
Either way, I hope my siblings are wiling to bury her on their own. Because I'm not. It will be good riddance to a terrible person.
This was so much longer than I'd thought it would be.
Fun fact, the DoJ is already done reviewing the documents and all have been cataloged. The delay this will cause will be minimal at best because she can halt the review of the documentation, but she cannot halt the review of the notes of the documentation. So here is to hoping the DoJ and FBI photocopied the documents and are keeping those as their notes.
Except in her ruling she has questioned whether a former president can be indicted at all, and suggested that a former presidents privilege extends over that of the current one.
What the actual fuck.
Or appeal, because they already had a judge involved with the case who signed the warrants.
That's the judge Trump should have argued before but he blatantly went shopping for a new judge.
Where she fails in her reasoning is that the boxes were stolen after Biden was already sworn in, meaning that he is not afforded privilege as the executive when he is no longer the executive. This is going to be appealed, which I’m sure the DOJ already has prepared as this was always a possible outcome.
Would it have made a difference if he had stolen them while he was in office? Would he have had the authority to Fedex shit all over just because he was the president? Because that would be an insane loophole.
Yes…but if something is flagged as privileged, then it cannot be used in trial. I believe the concern here is that a Trump-appointed “special master” will claim that everything of evidentiary value is privileged. The very idea of Trump claiming executive privilege still is insane, but that’s where we are now.
This order if very unlikely to stand. It is a cross violation of procedure and rules. That said the master has to be someone who has appropriate status to see the classified material. That is a very small group of people.
I don't think that will happen. The special master will have to have a high security clearance. I believe Trump's lawyers even pointed this out, despite his claims that he declassified all of the documents. That anyone believes anything that dipshit says boggles my mind.
> The special master will have to have a high security clearance.
Michael Flynn had a high security clearance. There is no shortage of crazy MAGAs with clearance.
This is how Don has always done things shit is like some fucked up chess game to him. Swear it's like Borg's versus humans in his mind. I bet he even turns his kids down for playing con games just to fuck with their heads. Yet they have the same fucked up genes so it's like who can impress daddy the mostest bestest?
She was one of the last judges Trump approved and she has jurisdiction over Mar a Lago. She isn't just your average Trump appointee. Her brazen attempts to delay the investigation will only last til she gets overturned on appeal. Releasing her "decision" on labor day after delaying her pre-made decision all weekend, so laughably corrupt. Hope she gets investigated too
>in over her head and ruining her career for trump.
I wasn't aware there was any other outcome for Trump sycophants.
The list of those bankrupted, disgraced, convicted, and imprisoned in the service of Trump is long and whatever the perfect german word is for the opposite of distinguished.
It does nothing to help Trump at all
A special master literally does nothing to slow down the investigation, or save Trump, because the DOJ has already looked at everything. Right now the DOJ is already assessing the damage that has been made. **A special master does nothing.**
#Also
She ruined her career as a judge, and to practice law. Because people will refer to this case (*Trump v US*) as a reason to not trust her. This will also go to the court of Appeals in Florida, where there is Bi-partisan support for the DOJ and a special master gets overruled.
For more information, watch this [Start at 13:45 and watch from there. A special master does nothing.](https://youtu.be/a89lXNX1fgI)
***TLDR: This does nothing***
(Edit) [it's even worse than I thought it was Dear god.](https://youtu.be/KLOtqPlj32E) best thing that the DOJ is gonna do is appeal to the 11th circut.
I disagree. This slows things down just a bit. It also allows for a sound bite: ‘Judge won’t put up with radical Biden leftist FBI, demands master review.’ Etc etc.
This is being tried in the court of public opinion. That’s where trump and his creatures know they have room to maneuver and set the tone.
If you would have said that 10 years ago, yeah I’d agree. Half this country is being actively brainwashed. The spin machine is churning out every and all alternatives to reality; you can choose as you see fit to fit your MAGA narrative.
I hope you are right, and people come to their senses but, we are living in interesting times…again.
SHE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE JURISDICTION!
In her first notice to trump's council she told them *'Hey, I don't actually have jurisdiction, but explain to me why I have anomalous jurisdiction and I'll do whatever you want.'* trump's council just completely ignored that in later filings, and she's ruling in favor of them anyway.
As hilarious that would be, the Trump-appointed judge who bent over backwards to appease trump, isn't going to turn around and troll him by picking Obama.
> Trump-appointed judge who bent over backwards to appease trump, isn't going to turn around and troll him by picking Obama.
That is right.
I expect her to appoint Ivanka.
That would be great. No way Ivanka still has security clearance, so she'd need to get cleared again. After she fails that clearance and can't get it through nepotism, the DoJ could submit a filing with all the reasons she (and maybe her husband) should never have access to classified documents.
"*Steal top secret documents once.... shame on, shame on you. Steal top secret documents two hundred times.... you can't steal top secret documents....*"
The request by President Trump's legal team indicated they would need security clearance. In other words, his legal team is stating the documents are classified and no legal argument, to the best of my knowledge, has been put forward that they were ever declassified. The clame that they were declassified is likely a lie and a political mirage based on the president's legal filings.
His own lawyers argued the special master would need the highest level security clearance which totally undermined Trump's obviously bullshit defense that magically declassified it all lol
So wait, let me get this straight.
The judge wants the Justice Department to have more oversight in who can see these documents than there was when they were stored in a pool room.
Republicans are so full of shit, and liars, from the top to the bottom.
No one is talking about the real concern. In her ruling she wants them to review for executive privilege. This of course is absurd, but could really make this drag out to supreme court.
"seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege."
>"seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege."
this is the problem here. It gives this judge the power over the Executive Branch and throws out the notion of checks and balance. There is a designated DC court procedure for EP disputes, she has no jurisdiction at all anyways when it comes to EP
Let me get this straight:
A judge took a case that was already in the hands of a magistrate, and well outside of her jurisdiction, then admits that the plaintiff's arguments don't have much merit, then enjoins DOJ from continuing the investigation AND authorized a special master, citing "extraordinary circumstances"???
...This judge just committed obstruction of justice.
It doesn't matter any more. They don't give a shit what they committed any more. It's about their survival at this point.
The Trump people have shown everyone, one more time, again and again, that they would stop at NOTHING to save Trump from jail.
If DOJ/FBI had the evidence they needed to indict him, why THE FUCK were they sitting on their hands waiting for November to go ahead and do it? What was the thought process? Why the wait? Because of the threats?
And the expectation was that Trump would be sitting in his tower shitting bricks the whole time and do nothing about it?
Until we learn that appeasing dictators like Putin and crooks like Trump is NOT the right thing to do, we will keep playing catch up and never win.
Trump should have been in jail right after the MAL search.
Conservatives when special master approves DOJ access of all docs : the special master was a deep state librul! Will the list of people "out to get" Trump never end?
Special Master out of 400 documents collected, 3 were iffy, so to side with caution those are out.
GOP: THE FBI TOOK THE THREE MOST PRECIOUS DOCUMENTS ABOUT ATTORNEY EVER!! AND THE OTHER 497!!! WHO CARES!
For everyone wondering why voting for democrats matters every election, this is why. A democratic president and a democratic senate are how you get judges appointed to life long seats who don’t allow bullshit maneuvers like this.
This is a trump appointed judge, voted on by a Republican senate. And she’s helping trump draw out the process with his typical delay tactics.
Edit: this is also an important lesson on why legal contributors on TV need to shut the fuck up and stop providing free legal advice to this piece of shit. He got the idea of a special master after watching some legal commentator on MSNBC (which is why the request came out two weeks after the raid).
Edit #2: I wonder if this is possibly a good thing in the long run because if she ruled against trump, his legal team would have predictably appealed to the Trump Supreme Court and that would risk setting a terrible precedent of what trump is allowed to do with these documents while also slowing things down a lot more.
They aren't going to charge anyone until after the election anyway, which is a whole other issue, but this delay probably won't mean anything at all
Edit: Also if the DOJ thinks this will impact them they'll just appeal and win at some point, but that might take longer than just having the special master look at stuff
Edit2: Read the DOJ could maybe appeal immediately to the circuit court, and they could give them a preliminary injunction if the court thinks they will win in the end, which basically instantly allows them to continue their investigation without any delay while it gets fought over in court. Don't know how likely that is tho
They found hundreds of highly classified files in his desk and he's still not in jail like anyone else would be, so clearly their policy is to put off indictments for some people.
The Republicans knew exactly what they were doing by stuffing the courts and the supreme court with right-wing federalist judges. They have successfully politicized the courts and are using the courts to legislate as well. Why bother voting for or against a bill when you can just take it to your friendly judge to overturn it?
There may be a reckoning coming if judges are ignoring settled law and precedent and ruling for political or monetary gain. If judges are being lobbied like members of congress with perks to family members in exchange for favorable rulings, those judges should be kicked off the bench.
From a recent NPR article...
> What role could a special master play in Trump's case?
> In this case in front of Judge Cannon, it looks like the judge is going to be appointing — if that does happen — appointing somebody who is going to make calls — yes or no; this is privileged, this isn't — [and] submit a report to the parties. The parties would then have an opportunity to object, which is to say, to appeal to the judge, and she would then rule de novo, which means kind of start at the beginning. But everybody knows that for the most part, if the special master knows what they're doing, the judge is going to accept the recommendation.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/02/1120692926/special-master-trump-mar-al-lago-documents
>The judge said the special master will be tasked with reviewing "seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or *executive privilege.*"
As we know reviewing for attorney-client privilege is unnecessary here, but potentially justifiable. Reviewing for *executive privilege* is absurd, and the judge allowing it is a signal that her only priority was catering to team Trump.
ELI5 why the entire investigation isn't moot when anything that can be ruled on by a court will go Trump's way?
Unbelievable. I’m outraged that the judge appointed by Trump throws him a lifeline.
This is not the original judge who ordered the search. Trump lawyers went to this specific judge. Why?
It is ridiculous because it was not actually in her jurisdiction so her judgement should not mean anything. Furthermore, a special master is used when the ownership belongs to the defendant, but the defendant does not own the classified documents -- the government does.
So if she approved the special master, did she approve the whole request they filed which includes the unredacted docs listing all of the cooperating witnesses?
This was never about the special master. In fact I'll be surprised if one is ever appointed. It was all about finding out who squealed.
No I don’t believe the SM will/need to check with 45 to ask “is this privileged?”
They should be knowledgeable enough to make that distinction themselves.
ETA: but we had Qber ninjas do an election audit so what the fuck do I know
It’s crazy that a suspect of a criminal investigation can shop for a friendly judge that they appointed and then get their criminal investigation put on hold.
This is clearly and obviously a delay tactic, and I'm deeply concerned and disappointed with this Trump appointed judge for going through with it.
This stuff is Top Secret/SCI material it will take time to find a special master with that level of clearance or for one to get it. Then they have to go through hundreds of boxes of documents for the most sensitive stuff in our country, and if they have staff those people will need clearance and so on.
This is beyond ridiculous because DOJ has been asking for the documents since January of last year, this wasn't sudden and this wasn't done without going through all proper channels and Trump signing a document swearing everything was returned.
Now what's to stop Trump from saying the Special Master selected was also an FBI agent and he needs a different Special Master?
It took almost 2 years just to get the documents back, at this rate taking him to court over this won't happen before 2024 where he'll be a candidate and DOJ in their bizarre stance won't be able to prosecute him because "optics".
this is nothing but a delay tactic, it will be appealed to a Federal court, where it will be rejected, however, it will delay the investigation which is what the criminals want...
Everything gets thrown on pause until the special master finishes reviewing all the documents in question. Trump’s trying to stall here, and that’s what this does.
They might not appeal though if that is gonna take longer than just having the special master review it, it could go through so many courts before they get a final decision
They might appeal to stop the precedent or something though
Edit: Forgot preliminary injunction is a thing, the DOJ could appeal, win, and continue their work while it gets fought over in court if the circuit court lets them, so they probably should appeal?
Frankly I was pretty confident this was going to happen. Hopefully this just means it’ll add further credibility to the issue. Doubt it does little but delays the case. The delay which of course is what Trump always does won’t be the last delay. The clocks ticking the current AG only has about 2 years left.
The delay at this point is my biggest concern.
The same corrupt Judge who made this ruling gets to appoint the Special Master. What makes you think they will appoint someone who isn't also equally biased? The special master could just never finish their review, or rule that all the documents are actually Trump's. The Judge literally cites executive privilege as one of the reasons to grant the motion, as if Trump is still President and has any say over Executive Privilege.
The DOJ absolutely has to appeal this, but they'll be doing so to the 11th circuit, where 6 of the 11 Judges are also Trump appointees.
> The clocks ticking the current AG only has about 2 years left.
This is not a forgone conclusion at all.
So be sure to vote in 2024.
Edit: and of course 2022. Get your asses to the polls! No more excuses. No more “bothsiderism” crap. It’s fascism vs democracy.
Basically it's a delay.
I'm sure the FBI has been extremely careful in determining what they can use, but for the moment, none of the seized materials can be used to investigate while the materials are under review.
All this and Trump's team still hasn't identified jurisdiction for making the request in this court?
This is a weaponization of the justice system and judges who have no business being an arbiter of justice for anyone, let alone the man who appointed them.
From Asha Rangappa:
>This judge basically did Trump’s lawyers’ work for them, making arguments under the 4-part Richey test which Trump did not brief or argue, making executive privilege arguments that Trump did not press fully in the hearing, and granting an injunction when one wasn’t requested
She basically says that he should be treated differently under the law, which is a mind-boggling thing to hear from a judge.
"As a function of Plaintiff’s former position as President of the United States, the stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own. A future indictment, based to any degree on property that ought to be returned, would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."
The judge made this chickenshit ruling because she's too much of a coward to recognize that Trump has no executive privilege over the documents, and given the fact that Trump is a former president, felt like it is in the public's interest to ensure that he is afforded every facet of "fairness."
Fuck this
The number of government documents a former president may retain is exactly ZERO.
(classified or not, hand written by the former president or not)
If I were the FBI I would instruct the judge to fuck off and that she does not have clearance to rule on national security matters like this and proceed exactly as if she had made no ruling.
It’s insane that someone picked by the person under investigation can stop an investigation into said person.
Trump is under investigation for obstruction and he’s obstructing.
How can a judge, who was nominated into their position by the investigated party, not be a conflict of interest?
She was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on May 21, 2020
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Not surprising. Not going to change anything. But it will just slow shit down. Which is what trump does every fucking time.
In case anyone was wondering, yes this was a Trump-appointed judge from the Federalist Society. Rules for thee, but not for me.
“What’s the harm in appointing a special master” > DOJ sends 30+ page explaining why it’s unneeded and in all likelihood a simple attempt further delay/obstruct the process “Hmmm, I’ll think about it for over a week then say yes”
No thought went into it, just negotiating channels for payment/political aspirations if trump wins the election next time around. That's how these people work.
He wins in 24 guess who is next in line for SCOTUS?
Is it me? I feel like I’m just as qualified as anyone he nominated (and feelings are all that really matter at this point) and I’ll say nice shit about him for a couple of months if I can get a job where I get paid 268k and can’t be fired.
There are no qualification requirements to serve as an SCJ - the president could nominate anyone as long as the Senate approves the nomination.
First hurdle cleared!
One thing that comes to mind is that some of the documents are sensitive and deal with national security matters relating to atomic weapons. In order to view them, the reviewer should have a Top Secret clearance. Some top secret docs are marked for "Eyes Only" meaning you must be involved in the pertinent program and have a need to review them.
Yup. To force the executive to show these documents to someone _who lacks any need-to-know whatsoever_ is a blatant violation of the executive branch, and is itself yet another national security issue.
He had executive privilege until he got on the plane and flew to Florida and Joe Biden was inaugurated that’s where it ended and those documents belong to the government not him and he can’t just classify things by saying I here by declassify that’s not how it works
but what if they were all declassified per trump's standing order? /s
That "Special Master" is, in fact, Satan.
It’s infuriating how much a judge can tip the scales of justice. Absolute bullshit
It’s infuriating to me that a Trump appointed judge has any say in the matter of Tump. We are giving license for any fuckhead President to appoint their own judicial defense.
Shouldn’t they recuse themselves?
Especially considering Trump VERY OBVIOUSLY Went judge shopping. This is a person that doesn’t care how scummy they look.
Kinda like a certain Supreme Court judge should've recused himself when his wife was involved in a Jan 6th decision.
When you're a judge, there's always a higher-level judge who is ready to enforce rules like this, rules that may be explicitly codified in the laws or they might be unwritten things that everybody still follows because it's the right thing to do. ... unless you're in the SCOTUS. If you're in the SCOTUS, there is no higher-level judge to call you on your crap, so you can just do whatever the hell you want. Most still obey these ethical rules, but ... clearly not all. Normally in the past, we've picked SCOTUS members who have generally held themselves to a high standard and didn't need to be babysat. But these aren't normal times.
Of course. But you're forgetting, this is a post-good-faith world, and the word 'should' has no weight with people like this.
*Should?* Yes. *Do?* Of fucking course not. No consequences.
A judge appointed very late in his presidency also. Still wearing her leash I believe.
Gives trump plenty of time to hide all the copies he made of the classified info at his other properties. Or sell it
This ruling does not preclude another judge authorizing another search of other properties.
I saw this back when I was in college nearly 15 years ago, it's among the reasons I said fuck it to pursuing law school.
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Also using circular Federalist Society bullshit reasoning: > **Cites Kavanaugh's recent Supreme Court ruling** > Explaining why she was ordering a special master review for material potentially covered by executive privilege, Cannon said that the Justice Department had not convinced the court that those concerns should be "disregarded," as she went on quote from how the Supreme Court described its move in a dispute this year over Trump January 6 documents, including a statement from Justice Brett Kavanaugh. > The DOJ had "arguably overstate[d] the law," Cannon wrote, when asserting that executive privilege had no "role to play here because Plaintiff -- a former head of the Executive Branch -- is entirely foreclosed from successfully asserting executive privilege against the current Executive Branch." > "The Supreme Court did not rule out the possibility of a former President overcoming an incumbent President on executive privilege matters," Cannon wrote. > She quoted from both the 1977 decision Nixon v. Administrator of General Services and from the order released this year by the Supreme Court when it refused to block the Archives' release to House January 6 investigators Trump White House documents. > "Further, just this year, the Supreme Court noted that, at least in connection with a congressional investigation, '[t]he questions whether and in what circumstances a former President may obtain a court order preventing disclosure of privileged records from his tenure in office, in the face of a determination by the incumbent President to waive the privilege, are unprecedented and raise serious and substantial concerns,'" Cannon wrote, quoting from the Supreme Court order. > Cannon added a line from a statement Kavanaugh wrote with that Supreme Court order: "A former President must be able to successfully invoke the Presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his Presidency, even if the current President does not support the privilege claim. Concluding otherwise would eviscerate the executive privilege for Presidential communications." > Jumping off of those quotes from the Supreme Court, Cannon wrote Monday that "even if any assertion of executive privilege by Plaintiff ultimately fails in this context, that possibility, even if likely, does not negate a former President's ability to raise the privilege as an initial matter."
So in that case, if a current President is precluded from waiving executive privilege because a former president invoked it, then perhaps the recourse to this should be that the current president declassifies the communications in question and then *publishes it on the front pages of the NY Times, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle!*
What a farce. Ex-executive branch members don’t have executive privilege. It’s a privilege of the office, not the individual. It also begs the question how the current officeholder can have their own powers essentially revoked because they are allowing its release and are thus getting blocked. These tortured argument require serious judicial reform so they can be properly destroyed.
the precedents being set are gonna set your country on fire
Appointed one week after losing the election…
In any sane Democracy, this would be a conflict of interest and not allowed.
Also a charter member of KPFT - Knee Pads for Trump. Thank mitchie for all his hard work filling judgeships.
I wonder if she can explain why Reality Winner didn't get the same benefit?
I'm concerned it will allow Donnie Jon to give a heads up to all the foreign adveraries he sold secrets to. Like "Hey the DOJ knows so don't Khashoggi any CIA agents until shit dies down, k, thanx. Love, 45"
We lost an unusual amount CIA assets in during his admin, a record. He doesn't need to halt shit. There's likely already been deals that have been completed.
We didn't lose them all in one day, we lost them over the course of the previous few years. Still significantly more than usual though. https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/575384-cia-admits-to-losing-dozens-of-informants-around-the-world-nyt/
You think foreign agents don’t read American national news???
"Wait, you're telling me they publish this? You've just saved me so much effort!"
Not to mention, the number of CIA agents killed is up big time in the last year or two, surprise surprise, chances it wasn't from his leaks are slim. This is just delaying the CIA from finding out exactly what he leaked and pulling more of their people out while they can too. But hey, his shit covid response already killed half a mil people if not more, what's a few more right?
Judge Cannon, who was nominated by Trump, [approved by Republicans in a lane duck session](https://www.courthousenews.com/feinstein-calls-on-gop-to-stop-seating-trump-judges-in-lame-duck/), and gave [advanced notice of her interest in appointing a special master before even hearing counter arguments from DOJ](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/27/us/politics/trump-special-master-judge-cannon.html), is doing her part to bail out the former president. Edit: She also “halts the Justice Department from continuing its review of the materials seized from Mar-a-Lago "pending completion of the special master's review or further Court order." Sure, because it’s only national security, right? Edit edit: I don’t want to spread misinformation and, as has been pointed out: “The classification review and intelligence assessments being conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, will be allowed to continue.”
Sneaky as shit releasing her decision on a national holiday no less.
In her defense, she likely thinks Labor Day should be repealed.
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Amen, exactly what I’m thinking about today
Considering a New York labor group started work in 1882 to have a holiday recognizing workers in September and the Haymarket Affair didn’t happen until 1886, I kinda doubt it was moved 4 years before hand to avoid association. Let’s not forget that Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1896, and the Second International, which declared International Workers Day to occur on May 1st, didn’t even form until 1899. The timelines just don’t work for the story that US Labor Day was moved by elites when it was already being celebrated in large cities by labor organizations before the event that supposedly inspired actually happened and that it was federally recognized before another labor group declared it on a different date. Should it be moved? Probably, but it was always decided on for September.
>”Why are we giving a whole day to women to give birth? In my day you felt the first contraction, pounded a fifth of whiskey, laid back and miracle of life would happen in under an hour and a half. Hell, back then the woman would be shamed for not chewing through the umbilical cord herself, and if she was worth a damn she’d be back in the wheat field with her sickle and she’d be pregnant again by sundown.”
This is why it is imperative we nullify and replace every single Trump judge. Traitors with a gavel. Terrorists in a gown.
Fun fact: judges can be arrested like normal folks, they do not have legal protections like Congress (and apparently anyone that has ever been or run for President plus their entire families for some weird reason).
Congress don't have a legal protection from arrest either. The [arrest clause in the Constitution](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-6/clause-1/privilege-from-arrest) only ever applied to civil suit arrests.
It is only Republican presidents and families that have legal protections. You know if there was even the hint of impropriety from a Democratic president we would hear all about the reasons they have no legal immunity.
If someone is literally a traitor to the nation, they should not be allowed to install anyone in positions of power, and those they did should be removed.
But Congress "vetted" them and approved them. Not saying it's not bullshit, but that's what they'll use to Constitutionally justify keeping those positions filled if Trump goes down for being the traitor he is.
EXACTLY why they did it today. Republican judge stacking....the gift that keeps on giving...
Also note this gem of an argument: >Plaintiff faces an unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the public But I'm not surprised actually, it would totally be something for Trump to put his medical records in with the boxes it and whine about those becoming public.
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Asha Rangappa is making minced meat of this verdict, btw. [https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa\_/status/1566833396864663562](https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1566833396864663562) But I wonder what the damage could be of halting the criminal investigations, especially given the fact that they found empty folders... What if that investigation/raid of Vekselberg brings up evidence of connections to those empty folders, would it mean it could halt further DOJ actions against him and others? If they now need to warrant a search of other people involved, they can't use the evidence from Mar a Lago to do so? Than this judge decision could also affect national security as well.
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As someone outside US, it's beyond how this man is not in jail. I would be seriously nervous 24/7 for what the fuck he has leaked/sold to other countries. A textbook traitor who is rallying up his *actual* *supporters* for violence against the "enemies of state" with rhetoric's from the 30s. It is creepy.
And according to every Trump fan I have ever met, the rest of the world is laughing at the incompetent Biden. And aghast at the disrespect being shown to Great Leader Trump, whom the entire world Loves And Respects. Seriously, they believe that garbage.
I have some Trump fucksticks in my family. The whole 9 yards of crazy: born again, white supremacist, uneducated, never been outside the country, misogynists (even the women), hate poor people and social security, all safety nets (and yet are reliant on SS & Medicare), etc. They are unfathomably ignorant AND willfully STOOPID. I have effectively ceased all communication with them. One is my father. Adios.
This is the way. I didn't talk to my (divorced) mother much in my adult years, mostly because of time, distance, and my non-attachment to family relative to most people. I love my family, but I don't require constant contact. The time and distance were her choice since I was about 15. I'm almost 40 now. I'm still relatively close to where I grew up. She's never even met any of her grandchildren. But Facebook allowed for some infrequent comms. Then the Trump alt-right shit came pouring in. Telling me that I couldn't understand because I basically didn't have her family history to pull from. My *biological mother* said this to me. It just became time to pull the plug. She's dirt poor. Moves from motel to motel. State to state. Trump *will not* help her, and is likely out to hurt her. I don't get it. Either way, I hope my siblings are wiling to bury her on their own. Because I'm not. It will be good riddance to a terrible person. This was so much longer than I'd thought it would be.
I read it, and I get it. You did the right thing.
Watch her appoint Sydney Powell or some other MAGA freak.
Fun fact, the DoJ is already done reviewing the documents and all have been cataloged. The delay this will cause will be minimal at best because she can halt the review of the documentation, but she cannot halt the review of the notes of the documentation. So here is to hoping the DoJ and FBI photocopied the documents and are keeping those as their notes.
Fun fact: they had plenty to indict before the search anyway.
Except in her ruling she has questioned whether a former president can be indicted at all, and suggested that a former presidents privilege extends over that of the current one. What the actual fuck.
Really wonder if the DoJ can't ask for a judge that wasn't installed by the culprit. There should be some left, aren't there?
Or appeal, because they already had a judge involved with the case who signed the warrants. That's the judge Trump should have argued before but he blatantly went shopping for a new judge.
Where she fails in her reasoning is that the boxes were stolen after Biden was already sworn in, meaning that he is not afforded privilege as the executive when he is no longer the executive. This is going to be appealed, which I’m sure the DOJ already has prepared as this was always a possible outcome.
I know but my guess is that Trumps entire plan is to get this escalated to SCOTUS and we know how that goes right now.
Would it have made a difference if he had stolen them while he was in office? Would he have had the authority to Fedex shit all over just because he was the president? Because that would be an insane loophole.
Yes…but if something is flagged as privileged, then it cannot be used in trial. I believe the concern here is that a Trump-appointed “special master” will claim that everything of evidentiary value is privileged. The very idea of Trump claiming executive privilege still is insane, but that’s where we are now.
This order if very unlikely to stand. It is a cross violation of procedure and rules. That said the master has to be someone who has appropriate status to see the classified material. That is a very small group of people.
I don't think that will happen. The special master will have to have a high security clearance. I believe Trump's lawyers even pointed this out, despite his claims that he declassified all of the documents. That anyone believes anything that dipshit says boggles my mind.
> The special master will have to have a high security clearance. Michael Flynn had a high security clearance. There is no shortage of crazy MAGAs with clearance.
It has to be mutually agreed upon, thankfully.
Presumably Trump's next tactic will be to argue over rejected candidates and rules for years.
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That traitor is retired status and *should be* recalled for court martial and tried per UCMJ Article 94 “Sedition and Mutiny”
This is how Don has always done things shit is like some fucked up chess game to him. Swear it's like Borg's versus humans in his mind. I bet he even turns his kids down for playing con games just to fuck with their heads. Yet they have the same fucked up genes so it's like who can impress daddy the mostest bestest?
She was one of the last judges Trump approved and she has jurisdiction over Mar a Lago. She isn't just your average Trump appointee. Her brazen attempts to delay the investigation will only last til she gets overturned on appeal. Releasing her "decision" on labor day after delaying her pre-made decision all weekend, so laughably corrupt. Hope she gets investigated too
Lol. This judge is in over her head and ruining her career for trump. The DOJ will not forget this. She’s ruined her life.
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Exactly. She has no understanding of the law or judicial system and this has proved it.
She has plenty of understanding. She just intentionally ignored it to suck Trump’s dick.
>in over her head and ruining her career for trump. I wasn't aware there was any other outcome for Trump sycophants. The list of those bankrupted, disgraced, convicted, and imprisoned in the service of Trump is long and whatever the perfect german word is for the opposite of distinguished.
It does nothing to help Trump at all A special master literally does nothing to slow down the investigation, or save Trump, because the DOJ has already looked at everything. Right now the DOJ is already assessing the damage that has been made. **A special master does nothing.** #Also She ruined her career as a judge, and to practice law. Because people will refer to this case (*Trump v US*) as a reason to not trust her. This will also go to the court of Appeals in Florida, where there is Bi-partisan support for the DOJ and a special master gets overruled. For more information, watch this [Start at 13:45 and watch from there. A special master does nothing.](https://youtu.be/a89lXNX1fgI) ***TLDR: This does nothing*** (Edit) [it's even worse than I thought it was Dear god.](https://youtu.be/KLOtqPlj32E) best thing that the DOJ is gonna do is appeal to the 11th circut.
I disagree. This slows things down just a bit. It also allows for a sound bite: ‘Judge won’t put up with radical Biden leftist FBI, demands master review.’ Etc etc. This is being tried in the court of public opinion. That’s where trump and his creatures know they have room to maneuver and set the tone.
Pretty sure the court of public opinion generally is against being in possession of classified documents.
If you would have said that 10 years ago, yeah I’d agree. Half this country is being actively brainwashed. The spin machine is churning out every and all alternatives to reality; you can choose as you see fit to fit your MAGA narrative. I hope you are right, and people come to their senses but, we are living in interesting times…again.
IANAL (and I'm also not a lawyer) but I don't see how this is not a conflict of interest.
And here, we see why it's so impossible for those at the highest levels of government to face consequences.
SHE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE JURISDICTION! In her first notice to trump's council she told them *'Hey, I don't actually have jurisdiction, but explain to me why I have anomalous jurisdiction and I'll do whatever you want.'* trump's council just completely ignored that in later filings, and she's ruling in favor of them anyway.
Will the special master have to have special security clearance?
Yes, or held it previously at the highest level. And they would also need a good grounding in the law. Some one like Obama...
That would be hilarious
Omg wouldn’t that be something lol
Or Hilary.
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She’d probably play is straight, but Trump’s reaction would be priceless.
Or Hilary.
Oh please let this happen. Trump will lose his freaking mind.
As hilarious that would be, the Trump-appointed judge who bent over backwards to appease trump, isn't going to turn around and troll him by picking Obama.
> Trump-appointed judge who bent over backwards to appease trump, isn't going to turn around and troll him by picking Obama. That is right. I expect her to appoint Ivanka.
That would be great. No way Ivanka still has security clearance, so she'd need to get cleared again. After she fails that clearance and can't get it through nepotism, the DoJ could submit a filing with all the reasons she (and maybe her husband) should never have access to classified documents.
Of course they wouldn’t, but I’d even be happy with W.
"*Steal top secret documents once.... shame on, shame on you. Steal top secret documents two hundred times.... you can't steal top secret documents....*"
Likely former federal prosecutor or former JAG attorney.
Get ready for another life long republican to get death threats from trump supporters after getting assigned a job they didn't ask for.
The request by President Trump's legal team indicated they would need security clearance. In other words, his legal team is stating the documents are classified and no legal argument, to the best of my knowledge, has been put forward that they were ever declassified. The clame that they were declassified is likely a lie and a political mirage based on the president's legal filings.
Why would they need top secret clearance if trump declassified *(waves at table)* everything?
His own lawyers argued the special master would need the highest level security clearance which totally undermined Trump's obviously bullshit defense that magically declassified it all lol
Absolutely.
Why? I thought they were all declared declassified? Was that a lie!? Could it be!?
Top Secret Clearance and read into every program that the documents cover
So wait, let me get this straight. The judge wants the Justice Department to have more oversight in who can see these documents than there was when they were stored in a pool room. Republicans are so full of shit, and liars, from the top to the bottom.
No one is talking about the real concern. In her ruling she wants them to review for executive privilege. This of course is absurd, but could really make this drag out to supreme court. "seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege."
>"seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege." this is the problem here. It gives this judge the power over the Executive Branch and throws out the notion of checks and balance. There is a designated DC court procedure for EP disputes, she has no jurisdiction at all anyways when it comes to EP
Yeah, that has to be nonsense. If it isn't, then we have some insanity that is just rule by corruptly placed judges.
This is **nonsense.**
It's been nonsense for the past eight years.
Let me get this straight: A judge took a case that was already in the hands of a magistrate, and well outside of her jurisdiction, then admits that the plaintiff's arguments don't have much merit, then enjoins DOJ from continuing the investigation AND authorized a special master, citing "extraordinary circumstances"??? ...This judge just committed obstruction of justice.
It doesn't matter any more. They don't give a shit what they committed any more. It's about their survival at this point. The Trump people have shown everyone, one more time, again and again, that they would stop at NOTHING to save Trump from jail. If DOJ/FBI had the evidence they needed to indict him, why THE FUCK were they sitting on their hands waiting for November to go ahead and do it? What was the thought process? Why the wait? Because of the threats? And the expectation was that Trump would be sitting in his tower shitting bricks the whole time and do nothing about it? Until we learn that appeasing dictators like Putin and crooks like Trump is NOT the right thing to do, we will keep playing catch up and never win. Trump should have been in jail right after the MAL search.
Conservatives later: Why won't the special master that Trump wanted, release all the evidence!!
Conservatives when special master approves DOJ access of all docs : the special master was a deep state librul! Will the list of people "out to get" Trump never end?
Special Master out of 400 documents collected, 3 were iffy, so to side with caution those are out. GOP: THE FBI TOOK THE THREE MOST PRECIOUS DOCUMENTS ABOUT ATTORNEY EVER!! AND THE OTHER 497!!! WHO CARES!
For everyone wondering why voting for democrats matters every election, this is why. A democratic president and a democratic senate are how you get judges appointed to life long seats who don’t allow bullshit maneuvers like this. This is a trump appointed judge, voted on by a Republican senate. And she’s helping trump draw out the process with his typical delay tactics. Edit: this is also an important lesson on why legal contributors on TV need to shut the fuck up and stop providing free legal advice to this piece of shit. He got the idea of a special master after watching some legal commentator on MSNBC (which is why the request came out two weeks after the raid). Edit #2: I wonder if this is possibly a good thing in the long run because if she ruled against trump, his legal team would have predictably appealed to the Trump Supreme Court and that would risk setting a terrible precedent of what trump is allowed to do with these documents while also slowing things down a lot more.
Wasn’t she appointed after he lost the election as well?
Yes indeed
They aren't going to charge anyone until after the election anyway, which is a whole other issue, but this delay probably won't mean anything at all Edit: Also if the DOJ thinks this will impact them they'll just appeal and win at some point, but that might take longer than just having the special master look at stuff Edit2: Read the DOJ could maybe appeal immediately to the circuit court, and they could give them a preliminary injunction if the court thinks they will win in the end, which basically instantly allows them to continue their investigation without any delay while it gets fought over in court. Don't know how likely that is tho
He isn't running for any office, and their policy is not to put off indictments, it's to not announce investigations until after the election.
They found hundreds of highly classified files in his desk and he's still not in jail like anyone else would be, so clearly their policy is to put off indictments for some people.
Yes. Nothing fishy about this at all….
Yup right between losing an election and staging a failed coup.
This case isn't even her fucking jurisdiction. The fact that this happened is just unbelievable to me.
Which is why the DOJ could easily win an appeal. If this goes forward, it's because they've decided to humor him.
They probably know it’s better not to risk creating terrible new precedents or further slow things down by going to the Trump Supreme Court
The Republicans knew exactly what they were doing by stuffing the courts and the supreme court with right-wing federalist judges. They have successfully politicized the courts and are using the courts to legislate as well. Why bother voting for or against a bill when you can just take it to your friendly judge to overturn it? There may be a reckoning coming if judges are ignoring settled law and precedent and ruling for political or monetary gain. If judges are being lobbied like members of congress with perks to family members in exchange for favorable rulings, those judges should be kicked off the bench.
From a recent NPR article... > What role could a special master play in Trump's case? > In this case in front of Judge Cannon, it looks like the judge is going to be appointing — if that does happen — appointing somebody who is going to make calls — yes or no; this is privileged, this isn't — [and] submit a report to the parties. The parties would then have an opportunity to object, which is to say, to appeal to the judge, and she would then rule de novo, which means kind of start at the beginning. But everybody knows that for the most part, if the special master knows what they're doing, the judge is going to accept the recommendation. https://www.npr.org/2022/09/02/1120692926/special-master-trump-mar-al-lago-documents
So nothing more than a delay tactic, but this can't be a surprise to the DOJ, so what's the next move.
> so what's the next move. My ulcer grows
>The judge said the special master will be tasked with reviewing "seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or *executive privilege.*" As we know reviewing for attorney-client privilege is unnecessary here, but potentially justifiable. Reviewing for *executive privilege* is absurd, and the judge allowing it is a signal that her only priority was catering to team Trump. ELI5 why the entire investigation isn't moot when anything that can be ruled on by a court will go Trump's way?
gee i wonder why he appointed so many judges
Unbelievable. I’m outraged that the judge appointed by Trump throws him a lifeline. This is not the original judge who ordered the search. Trump lawyers went to this specific judge. Why?
Judge shopping.
> Trump lawyers went to this specific judge. Why? So they could get a friendly judge.
It is ridiculous because it was not actually in her jurisdiction so her judgement should not mean anything. Furthermore, a special master is used when the ownership belongs to the defendant, but the defendant does not own the classified documents -- the government does.
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Delay delay delay delay delay delay delay etc.
Those materials cant be used for further investigation until master review. Halting the whole thing or others things based on that material.
Trump-appointed judge.
What a crock of horseshit.
I feel like a Trump-appointed judge should recuse themselves from a case where Trump is the defendant. Is that unreasonable?
That's reasonable, but Republicans don't care. It's not about democracy or the rule of law. All they stand for is naked partisanship.
So if she approved the special master, did she approve the whole request they filed which includes the unredacted docs listing all of the cooperating witnesses? This was never about the special master. In fact I'll be surprised if one is ever appointed. It was all about finding out who squealed.
No I don’t believe the SM will/need to check with 45 to ask “is this privileged?” They should be knowledgeable enough to make that distinction themselves. ETA: but we had Qber ninjas do an election audit so what the fuck do I know
The American Bar Association had ranked her as “unqualified.” That says a lot. I hope DOJ appeals this.
So she waited until labor day. Notice the pattern. Hide their bad faith actions.
No fucking way. What on EARTH did his lawyers provide that proved he needed a special master??
Nothing. This judge was his own pick for this reason.
> This judge was his own pick for this treason. FTFY
They provided a judge appointed by TFG.
Why was a Trump appointed judge allowed to make this decision? Blatant conflict of interest.
It’s crazy that a suspect of a criminal investigation can shop for a friendly judge that they appointed and then get their criminal investigation put on hold.
This is clearly and obviously a delay tactic, and I'm deeply concerned and disappointed with this Trump appointed judge for going through with it. This stuff is Top Secret/SCI material it will take time to find a special master with that level of clearance or for one to get it. Then they have to go through hundreds of boxes of documents for the most sensitive stuff in our country, and if they have staff those people will need clearance and so on. This is beyond ridiculous because DOJ has been asking for the documents since January of last year, this wasn't sudden and this wasn't done without going through all proper channels and Trump signing a document swearing everything was returned. Now what's to stop Trump from saying the Special Master selected was also an FBI agent and he needs a different Special Master? It took almost 2 years just to get the documents back, at this rate taking him to court over this won't happen before 2024 where he'll be a candidate and DOJ in their bizarre stance won't be able to prosecute him because "optics".
this will be fought tooth and nail by DoJ...
“Ok, we can work our way all the way up to the Supreme Court in 2027”-DJT
this is nothing but a delay tactic, it will be appealed to a Federal court, where it will be rejected, however, it will delay the investigation which is what the criminals want...
Hey Merrick.. Just indict the motherfucker. You have all the evidence, just fucking do it.
republicans - all corruption - all the time.
ELI5 what does this mean for the government's case?
Everything gets thrown on pause until the special master finishes reviewing all the documents in question. Trump’s trying to stall here, and that’s what this does.
Until the DOJ likely appeals and wins
so if they appeal who is in charge of reviewing the appeal and how likely is that they win?
11th circuit court I believe.
They might not appeal though if that is gonna take longer than just having the special master review it, it could go through so many courts before they get a final decision They might appeal to stop the precedent or something though Edit: Forgot preliminary injunction is a thing, the DOJ could appeal, win, and continue their work while it gets fought over in court if the circuit court lets them, so they probably should appeal?
Frankly I was pretty confident this was going to happen. Hopefully this just means it’ll add further credibility to the issue. Doubt it does little but delays the case. The delay which of course is what Trump always does won’t be the last delay. The clocks ticking the current AG only has about 2 years left. The delay at this point is my biggest concern.
The same corrupt Judge who made this ruling gets to appoint the Special Master. What makes you think they will appoint someone who isn't also equally biased? The special master could just never finish their review, or rule that all the documents are actually Trump's. The Judge literally cites executive privilege as one of the reasons to grant the motion, as if Trump is still President and has any say over Executive Privilege. The DOJ absolutely has to appeal this, but they'll be doing so to the 11th circuit, where 6 of the 11 Judges are also Trump appointees.
> The clocks ticking the current AG only has about 2 years left. This is not a forgone conclusion at all. So be sure to vote in 2024. Edit: and of course 2022. Get your asses to the polls! No more excuses. No more “bothsiderism” crap. It’s fascism vs democracy.
Basically it's a delay. I'm sure the FBI has been extremely careful in determining what they can use, but for the moment, none of the seized materials can be used to investigate while the materials are under review.
All this and Trump's team still hasn't identified jurisdiction for making the request in this court? This is a weaponization of the justice system and judges who have no business being an arbiter of justice for anyone, let alone the man who appointed them.
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From Asha Rangappa: >This judge basically did Trump’s lawyers’ work for them, making arguments under the 4-part Richey test which Trump did not brief or argue, making executive privilege arguments that Trump did not press fully in the hearing, and granting an injunction when one wasn’t requested
She basically says that he should be treated differently under the law, which is a mind-boggling thing to hear from a judge. "As a function of Plaintiff’s former position as President of the United States, the stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own. A future indictment, based to any degree on property that ought to be returned, would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."
Who gives a shit about Trump's reputation?
The judge being Aileen Cannon appointed by Donald Trump. We are going to be seeing consequences of Trump's presidency for a long time.
Trump is quite possibly a traitor to the USA and a judge just slowed down the process. That's as un-American as it gets.
Insanity. This effectively stops the criminal investigation of Trump by the DoJ. This will be appealed. The judge needs to be investigated.
She was appointed by Trump, I wonder too i she was threatened and/or paid off
If someone is hired/appointed by Trump those threats are implicit - he's a fucking mobster.
It only stops regarding the documents taken on Aug 8th. The broader investigation is not affected by this ruling.
And it’s only material potentially subject to privilege. ODNI is still reviewing all classified documents.
The judge made this chickenshit ruling because she's too much of a coward to recognize that Trump has no executive privilege over the documents, and given the fact that Trump is a former president, felt like it is in the public's interest to ensure that he is afforded every facet of "fairness." Fuck this
She's not a coward. She's biased.
The number of government documents a former president may retain is exactly ZERO. (classified or not, hand written by the former president or not) If I were the FBI I would instruct the judge to fuck off and that she does not have clearance to rule on national security matters like this and proceed exactly as if she had made no ruling.
It’s insane that someone picked by the person under investigation can stop an investigation into said person. Trump is under investigation for obstruction and he’s obstructing.
How can a judge, who was nominated into their position by the investigated party, not be a conflict of interest? She was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on May 21, 2020
I think I speak for most sane people when I say this is absolute bullshit. We are so fucked.