Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is messing with Raymond Diery, Mr. Trump’s expert has demanded. At the center of the latest issue is a trove of top-secret material seized in the FBI’s Aug. 8 Mar-a-Lago raid. Trump claims he had declassified everything the FBI found. Dearie is asking Trump’s team to hand over specific information about whether or not the files were declassified. In a Sept. 19 filing, Trump’s team appealed Dearie’s request to avoid revealing details about the top-secret material. Trump’s lawyers argue there is a “time and place” for Trump to “disclose specific information about declassification to the Court and the administration,” according to the filing. They are asking Dearie not to demand that his team hand over information about whether or not the documents were declassified. Trump’s lawyers argue that handing over those documents would force Trump to “fully and specifically disclose a defense” he could try to mount to fight any “subsequent accusation.” Lawyers for the former president also dispute Dearie’s proposed timelines, arguing that the draft plan “compresses the entire inspection and labeling process to be completed by October 7, 2022.” “We respectfully suggest that all deadlines may be extended to allow for a more realistic and complete assessment of the areas of dispute,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the filing. Dearie has until Nov. 30 to complete his review of the documents seized by the FBI. During his Mar-a-Lago raid, the agency seized 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked “top secret.” The Justice Department is looking into whether Trump violated any of three federal laws — including the Espionage Act — by keeping the documents at his Florida residence. Last week, the Justice Department appealed Judge Aileen Cannon’s original decision to appoint a special master to the case. The DOJ also requested a partial stay of Cannon’s ruling on classified documents as it prepares a formal appeal, which could see the case extended to the Supreme Court. Dearie, 78, is a former chief judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was appointed, at Trump’s request, as a third neutral investigator in Trump’s legal dispute with the FBI over documents seized in the agency’s Mar-a-Lago raid. Trump is footing the bill for the costs of appointing the special master. Trump is represented by attorneys at Ifrah Law — attorneys James Trusty, Christopher Kise, Lindsey Halligan and Evan Corcoran.
