Trump-Appointed Judge Overrules Special Master on Request For Trump Lawyers to Put in Writing Claim FBI Planted Evidence

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Judge Aileen M. Cannon overruled an order from special master Raymond J. Dearie on Thursday declaring that former President Donald Trump’s lawyer must submit to him in writing by September 30th an accounting of all materials seized from Mar-a-Lago.

“There shall be no separate requirement on Plaintiff at this stage, prior to the review of any of the seized materials. … The Court’s Appointment Order did not contemplate that obligation,” Cannon wrote.

Dearie’s order from late last week read:

No later than Sept. 30, 2022, Plaintiff shall submit a declaration or affidavit that includes each of the following factual matters: a. A list of any specific items set forth in the Detailed Property Inventory that Plaintiff asserts were not seized from the Premises on Aug. 8, 2022

Thursday’s ruling marks the first time the Trump-appointed judge has interfered with the work of the special master, who Trump’s team requested to review all the material seized by the FBI from his private home.

Dearie had apparently made the request to clarify whether or not Trump and his legal team truly believe and want to contest the notion that the FBI lied about what was taken. Trump and his allies have repeatedly suggested and outright claimed that federal authorities planted evidence during the raid.

“They leak, lie, plant fake evidence, allow the spying on my campaign, deceive the FISA Court, RAID and Break-Into my home, lose documents, and then they ask me, as the 45th President of the United States, to trust them. Look at the I.G. Reports on Comey, McCabe, and others. Things are safer in the middle of Central Park!” Trump raged on his Truth Social platform earlier in the month.

The Department of Justice has released inventory lists of the material taken, showing among the 11,000 documents many were marked classified or top secret.

Legal commentators were quick to criticize Cannon’s ruling.

“Oy- Judge Cannon tinkers badly with (and with typos) Judge Dearie’s scheduling order, relieving Trump of obligation to say whether docs were planted, even though she had wanted a clear inventory of what was found. She is such a disgrace,” wrote Andrew Weissmann, a former DOJ prosecutor.

Oy- Judge Cannon tinkers badly with (and with typos) Judge Dearie’s scheduling order, relieving Trump of obligation to say whether docs were planted, even though she had wanted a clear inventory of what was found. She is such a disgrace. https://t.co/CSxi4C50I3

— Andrew Weissmann 🌻 (@AWeissmann_) September 29, 2022

Justice reporter Mark Joseph Stern, wrote, “Yesterday, we were told that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago lawsuit was a “giant backfire” because the special master refused to go along with Cannon’s corrupt antics.”

“But Cannon was shameless enough to overrule the special master, because she is not a real judge,” Stern added, referring to criticism over Cannon’s lack of experience before being appointed to the bench.

Yesterday, we were told that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago lawsuit was a “giant backfire” because the special master refused to go along with Cannon’s corrupt antics. https://t.co/vU9BwlAKz1

But Cannon was shameless enough to overrule the special master, because she is not a real judge. https://t.co/9WFQc4wPj1

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) September 29, 2022