A New York Times reporter worried that a federal judge’s ruling granting former President Donald Trump’s request for a special master gave Trump too much deference during a Tuesday CNN appearance.
“This judge, who Trump appointed, carved out what is essentially a Trump exception or presidential exception, I guess I should say. She basically talks on and on about how — not basically, she does talk on and on about how the stain of an investigation can leave, you know, an irreparable mark and how damaging that can be,” Maggie Haberman said to “New Day” co-host John Berman. (RELATED: MSNBC Host, Guests Melt Down Multiple Times Over Trump ‘Special Master’ Ruling)
WATCH:
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ordered that a third-party attorney, known as a “special master,” would be appointed to review the materials seized during the Aug. 8 raid on Mar-a-Lago. The FBI reportedly seized medical and tax documents during the raid, Cannon said in the ruling.
A special master was appointed to review documents and materials seized from Project Veritas, a non-profit that carries out undercover investigations, in December after the group was raided by the FBI. Special counsel John Durham requested a special master review of documents he sought as part of his probe into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into allegations that Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Many Republicans and conservatives criticized the raid, accusing the Biden administration of an “abuse of power.”
“She ignores the fact that the search warrant that existed, another magistrate signed off on, approved of, because he found overwhelming evidence of probable cause, that there were potential crimes being committed,” Haberman continued, “and this was after a year and a half of the federal government trying to get back documents that belonged to the government, not to Donald Trump. You wouldn’t know any of that, really, from looking at this ruling.”
Haberman fretted about the consequences of the judge’s ruling.
“The appeal is obviously the main thing. How long does this take, John?” Haberman asked. “Let’s say the DoJ does go ahead with the appeal. How long does this stop their investigation even as that’s playing out. Does this kick into next year, into 2023, which is very possible, and I know one thing we didn’t discuss is, how do the two sides even agree on who the special master is going to be, who has the security clearances for this? It is a wild decision.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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