Judge Cannon has just sided with President Trump against the demand of the Special Master that Trump back up his concern that the FBI may have planted evidence.
The Special Master had required that Trump verify the inventory of seized items, but the judge shot that demand down:
New: The judge in the Mar-a-Lago docs case sided with Trump in his objection to the special master's proposal that he verify the govt's inventory log of seized items, and extended the deadline for the review into mid-December. More to come. https://t.co/NYPJoHAYWG pic.twitter.com/brpN9ofFVd
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) September 29, 2022
Here’s the text of the judge’s ruling:
Upon review of the matter, the Court determines as follows. There shall be no separate requirement on Plaintiff at this stage, prior to the review of any of the Seized Materials, to lodge ex ante final objections to the accuracy of Defendant’s Inventory, its descriptions, or its contents. The Court’s Appointment Order did not contemplate that obligation; Defendant since has complied with the requirement to attest to its now-revised inventory; and the parties and the Special Master now are situated to proceed forward with the review process pending exchange of the actual materials. Should any additional matters surface during the Special Master’s review process that require reconsideration of the Inventory or the need to object to its contents, the parties shall make those matters known to the Special Master for appropriate resolution and recommendation to this Court.
The judge also extended the time of the Special Master’s review from the end of November to the middle of December:
Finally, in light of delays in securing an appropriate vendor to scan and make available the Seized Materials to Plaintiff and the Special Master, and recognizing the more precise quantification of the implicated pages of material (describing that the 11,000 documents approximate 200,000 pages of materials), the Court hereby extends the end date for completion of the Special Master’s review and classifications from the prior date of November 30, 2022, to December 16, 2022. This modest enlargement is necessary to permit adequate time for the Special Master’s review and recommendations given the circumstances as they have evolved since entry of the Appointment Order. Again, should a need arise to make limited modifications to this Plan following guidance from the Special Master, the Court will make such adjustments as necessary, recognizing the need for expeditious treatment of this action.
I don’t know if this will be appealed, but hopefully the Special Master will go ahead and complete his review. Trump never made a definitive claim that the FBI planted evidence. He just suggested he had that concern and he shouldn’t be the one to have to prove it.
You can read the full ruling here.