Last week, Fox News reported that U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon granted former President Donald Trump’s request to task a special master with reviewing the material taken during an FBI raid on his Florida home.
In response, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has signaled its intention to appeal Cannon’s order, which has a member of Trump’s legal team wondering if there’s a coverup in progress.
Lawyer says DOJ attempting to avoid transparency
According to the Washington Examiner, that suggestion was made over the weekend by Trump attorney James Trusty during an appearance on Fox News’ “Life, Liberty, and Levin.”
“What we have in this situation is a historical first,” the Examiner quoted Trusty, who is a former federal prosecutor, as telling host Mark Levin on Sunday.
“And I mean that in a very negative way, to have this search warrant based on failed [National Archives and Records Administration] negotiations, I suppose, that allowed the government to basically ransack the president’s residence,” he continued.
“You’d think in this era of the attorney general constantly talking about rule of law and transparency, that we would be the first one to say, ‘Sure, another set of eyes is perfectly fine,” Trusty said.
The lawyer also spoke of an “overarching theme” of the DOJ attempting to avoid oversight, a phenomenon that Trusty suggested was grounds for suspicion.
“It would have been so much more respectful of the department and of this attorney general if they turned around and said, ‘You know what — good idea to have a special master. We have nothing to hide. Let’s get at it,'” he said before adding. “But that’s not the approach. It’s a constant fight.”
FBI official claims special master will hinder investigation
The Examiner reported that in its reaction to Cannon’s decision, the DOJ claimed its investigation of Trump would be impeded as law enforcement agents could not access the disputed documents until they had been reviewed by a special master.
“In this matter, to effectuate the [intelligence community’s] classification review, the FBI must be able to access the evidence,” FBI Counterintelligence Deputy Chief Alan Kohler Jr. declared.
“Such review, as noted, will enable the Government to assess the potential harms to national security resulting from any improper retention and storage of classified information.”