JUST IN: Justice Department Demands Trump Pay for Special Master in Espionage Act Case – Trump Wants America to Pay Half
L: Joe Raedle/Getty Images, R: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The Justice Department wants former President Donald Trump to bear the cost of a special master to review documents in the Espionage Act investigation — but Trump wants America to split the check with him.
At the beginning of this week, Trump-appointed District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that a special master must be appointed to review documents seized during the FBI in the search of Mar-a-Lago, and enjoined the Justice Department from using the documents in its investigation of Trump for crimes involving the Espionage Act in the interim.
On Thursday, the Justice Department made a counter-offer in a motion that asked for access to just the classified documents seized in the raid while the special master reviews everything else.
On Friday, both sides submitted a joint filing laying out areas of agreement and disagreement between the DoJ and Team Trump, one of which had to do with who will pay for the special master. That was one of the areas of disagreement:
3. Compensation and Expenses
Plaintiff proposes to split evenly the professional fees and expenses of the Special Master and any professionals, support staff, and expert consultants engaged at the Master’s request.
The Government’s position is that, as the party requesting the special master, Plaintiff should bear the additional expense of the Special Master’s work.
The plaintiff in the filing is DONALD J. TRUMP, and the other party is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The two sides also submitted their respective candidates to perform the duties of special master:
Government’s Proposed Candidates
The Honorable Barbara S. Jones (ret.) – retired judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, partner in Bracewell LLP, and special master in In re: in the Matter of Search Warrants Executed on April 28, 2021 and In the Matter of Search Warrants Executed on April 9, 2018.
The Honorable Thomas B. Griffith (ret.) – retired Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, special counsel in Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School.
Plaintiff’s Proposed Candidates
The Honorable Raymond J. Dearie (ret.) – former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, formerly the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Paul Huck, Jr.—founder, The Huck Law Firm, former Jones Day partner, former General Counsel to the Governor, former Deputy Attorney General for the State of Florida.
Read the full filing here.
