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The Justice Department is appealing a federal judge’s ruling appointing a special master to review documents the FBI retrieved from the Florida home of former President Donald Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled the special master will be able to review the seized materials and identify those records that are protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege. The DOJ objected to the request, saying a special master could harm the government’s national security interests.
Straight Arrow News contributor Rashad Richey says the special master ruling in the Trump probe is unprecedented because of the questions it raises over whether executive privilege can be extended to former presidents.
That judge has now ruled in favor of Donald Trump, citing that Trump can have what’s called a master…a special master review the evidence seized by the FBI from his home in Mar-a-Lago. Now, typically, a special master, a third-party attorney, is appointed in situations like this to do one thing: To determine what is protected under attorney-client privilege. What’s unprecedented about this ruling is that it looks as if the judge is going to allow the powers of this special master to go beyond looking at documents that may be covered by attorney-client privilege, and actually connects to what’s called executive privilege.
I’m going to explain in a moment why that’s unprecedented. So U.S. District Judge Cannon cleared the way for a third-party attorney to review all seized materials, not just for documents covered by the attorney-client privilege, the circumstance in which is pretty normative for a special master, but also potential executive privilege concerns. A move that is unprecedented, and here’s why: It’s not settled law.
What is considered privileged communication is typically when a president talks to an advisor, a trusted individual within the White House, and that conversation should not be made public. Well, here’s what’s not settled about it. Does it extend beyond the presidency? In other words, can an ex-president claim executive privilege or does it only exist for the current president of the United States?
