Friday’s filings regarding special master.
September 10, 2022
I am opening the Comments section over the weekend to all subscribers (paid and free). There is much to discuss, but as always, please be respectful, use paragraph breaks to enhance readability, and “promote” worthy comments to the top of the list by “liking” them.
Late Friday evening, the DOJ and Trump’s attorneys filed a “joint” statement on the appointment of a special master that essentially listed their areas of disagreement. The documents are here:
Parties’ Joint Statement regarding Appointment of Special Master.
Government’s Proposed Order re Appointment of Special Master.
The parties’ main disagreement is whether the special master can review documents marked as “classified.” The DOJ says “No,” and Trump says “Yes.”
The DOJ proposes that the special master complete their work by October 17, 2022. Trump did not propose a deadline.
The DOJ proposes that Trump prepare “logs”—or lists—of documents that fall into the following categories:
(a) Personal items with no claim of attorney-client privilege;
(b) Personal items subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege;
(c) Presidential records not protected by executive privilege; and
(d) Presidential records claimed to be protected by executive privilege.
The DOJ will either agree or disagree with the above classifications before the documents are provided to the special master. The DOJ says its proposal is designed to reduce areas of disagreement and reduce the burden on the special master.
Unbelievably, Trump says that any records he identifies as protected by executive privilege should be returned to the National Archives—something Trump refused to do after repeated requests and a grand jury subpoena! This demand shows that Trump is seeking delay, nothing more.
The parties did not agree on a special master. The government suggested two retired judges, while Trump proposed a retired judge and a private attorney who is a member of the Federalist Society and married to a judge on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal—which would hear any appeal from Judge Cannon’s rulings. If Judge Cannon appoints the private attorney candidate as special master, the House should begin impeachment proceedings for Judge Cannon ASAP.
There will be much more to say on Monday evening—when Trump is required to respond to the DOJ’s request for a stay of Judge Cannon’s order regarding the review of classified documents.
Have a good weekend!
Talk to you on Monday!
Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but I cannot help but feel the law is steadily closing in on the tfg. He is flailing about and tossing obstacles desperately - and manages delays with some of it - but Garland and the DOJ are way smarter than he and his lawyers are.
As you pointed out in a recent newsletter, Judge Cannon has made an ass of herself (not your words…) The DOJ response craftily gives her an avenue to redemption while not angering the trump base (most of whom I imagine are too ignorant to understand the nuances of the various elements at play) and while also allowing the DOJ to move forward.
Monday will tell
As a Brit, living in Tanzania, I thought it might be interesting for some of you to read my reflections on the passing of our Queen. For the record, I am broadly supportive of the functions of the Royal Family while being frustrated by individual members and the wider scope of the privilege.
Elizabeth was 96 years old. There are very few people that are living in the UK who are older than her and even fewer that have memories of the life and times before she was born. She has, simply, been the one constant in everyone's lives: during the good and bad, the painful and joyful, through the mistakes and success. Love it or hate the monarchy, she has been part of our identity as a nation and as citizens for nigh on a century. And I think all of us feel that we have lost a part of ourselves.
The closest example I can use to describe it - but still fails to capture the sheer magnitude - is probably the death of Nelson Mandela.
She came into a world where the British Empire was still powerful and omniscient across large swathes of the world. She stayed in London during the war and even volunteered as a driver and mechanic as part of the effort. She and her sister snuck out of the Palace, incognito, to join the Victory parades in 1945. She was Queen when Britain finally and belatedly recognized the independence of the ex-colonies into Nation States and sought to redress the relationship as one of equals within the Commonwealth, which she was very proud of. She was there during the economic challenges of the 70's and early 80's and the Cold War. She saw in the digital age, the dramatic widening of our horizons, the end of apartheid. She saw huge social change and social justice that are still ongoing today with the me-too movements, the black lives matter, abortion rights, equal representation, LGBTQ+ rights. And she saw the narrowing of our global views on the last few years, the increased nationalism, intolerance and the invasion of Ukraine.
She saw, 14? Prime Ministers come and go and I think most of them, even the most rambunctious, have admitted that they were in awe of her at their weekly meetings and not a little scared. She had views and an in-depth knowledge of politics that was only shared with them. Her devotion to her role was unstinting and extraordinary. it was her greatest weakness and her greatest strength.
She did make mistakes (the relationship and death of Princess Diana - the argument over taxes and the cost of maintaining the extended royal family) - and she certainly sacrificed her family life to duty. At times she felt more remote from the national conversation than was wise. But she has been our constant, our reliable point of reference and was part of who we are as a nation. We are all fallible at times, including the Queen, and that gave her humanity.
If you want to distill the Queen's character and the place she holds in our lives to one photograph, for me it is the one in Church at the funeral of her husband or so many years, Prince Philip. If anyone was going to be given a free pass during COVID to mourn, it would be the Queen. But she refused, and sat, all by herself in her very visible grief. She chose to stand with all people who had had similar grief, isolation and loss in their lives. She chose to be one of us.
Charles will be a different king, he is a different person. He comes with strong views on climate, the environment, the importance of helping the disadvantaged. We are not used to a Monarch with a strong personal philosophy. He also comes with the baggage of a personal life lived on the front pages of newspapers that his mother did not have to content with till later. He is a mix of radical and very reserved, more sensitive and thoughtful than many imagine (as his broadcast yesterday showed) and quite private and conservative. Seventy three is quite late to launch on a new career path and he has big shoes to step into.