Donald Trump's attorneys asked the special master presiding over the Mar-a-Lago document review not to hear privately from the "highly politicized" National Archives.
The former president has attacked the National Archives and Records Administration as "radical left-controlled" since the FBI searched his Florida resort looking for classified materials the government says don't belong to him, and Trump's attorneys argued Friday that special master Raymond Dearie should not be allowed to meet with the NARA without them present, reported Law & Crime.
"[Trump] respectfully contends that the Special Master should avoid engaging in an ex parte contact or otherwise conducting private interviews in this matter,” Trump attorney James Trusty said in a four-page letter. “Further, as noted during the initial Status Conference, [Trump] has deep concerns regarding the political bias of NARA leadership. Accordingly, we must object to any contact with NARA that does not allow for the full participation of the parties.”
Dearie, a senior U.S. District Court judge recommended for the job by Trump's attorneys, had released a scheduling order that included an ex parte meeting with NARA, meaning the former president's legal team wouldn't be present, but Trusty argued that the special master should avoid conducting private interviews on the matter.
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“Further, as noted during the initial Status Conference, [Trump] has deep concerns regarding the political bias of NARA leadership," Trusty wrote. "Accordingly, we must object to any contact with NARA that does not allow for the full participation of the parties.”
Dearie has scheduled a Dec. 1 status conference, and Trusty suggested a NARA representative could appear there.
“This would ensure that the record includes all information developed in such testimony, and it would also allow the parties to ask questions of the representative, akin to a deposition,” Trump's attorney wrote. “[Trump]’s proposed procedure would appropriately balance the Special Master’s need for information with the parties’ interest in testing the reliability and accuracy of that information.”
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