Trump's delay tactics pushed special master Dearie to respond with a 'master stroke' that helps the DOJ
According to at least one legal expert, Donald Trump's well-known procedure of using delaying tactics in legal disputes is crashing and burning as he attempts to battle the Department of Justice's investigation into the theft of highly-sensitive documents he whisked away to his Mar-a-Lago home.
As the Daily Beast reports, the former president suffered major setbacks last week after special master Raymond Dearie began his work -- after Trump's legal team suggested his selection and Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon approved -- with things going swiftly downhill for Trump's defense so far.
With Cannon giving Dearie plenty of time to rule on the dispute over hundreds of documents, he has instead worked faster than expected, and even accelerated his investigation, with what one law professor called a "master stroke" that should concern the former president.
According to the Beast's Jose Pagliery, Trump's demand for a special master "may have actually backfired and put him on a fast-track collision course with the federal government he once led."
Faced with Trump lawyers' refusal to identify what documents the former president insists he declassified, Dearie has asked them to provide evidence on a short deadline, and hired an associate, at Trump's expense, to speed the process along.
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"Raymond Dearie, the semi-retired Brooklyn federal judge specifically brought in to second-guess the Justice Department, has actually used his special master role to speed up the review," the Beast report states before adding, "Dearie is even bringing in reinforcements. In an order Thursday, Dearie said he’s tapping retired magistrate judge James Orenstein to help sort through the gargantuan mountain of 11,000 documents—and without hesitation ordered Trump to pay him $500 an hour to do it."
According to University of Richmond law school professor Carl W. Tobias, Trump has only himself to blame for the turn of events.
“Who knows what’s still at Mar-a-Lago? Who knows where the rest of it is? It’s obvious that Trump can’t be trusted—and neither can his lawyers. But at least the bluff has been called on using the courts to delay this,” he told the Beast's Pagliery.
Referring to the "master stroke" of hiring Orenstein, Tobias added, "That will expedite matters exponentially, and that’s all good. The whole point of this litigation is to delay. [Dearie] has a reputation as a no-nonsense, very professional, very experienced jurist… he has cut through the bullsh*t offered up by Trump’s lawyers and gotten to the point.”
George Washington University law school professor Stephen A. Saltzburg agreed, explaining, "Judge Cannon tried to throw a lifeline of delay, and it didn’t work… [Dearie] is the kind of judge who’s been around a long time. He’s not going to tolerate wasted time. And he’s not going to be played."
The report adds that Dearie's move will thus allow the DOJ to accelerate their investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act as well as arrive at a determination into accusations of obstruction.
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