Who is Raymond Dearie, the Special Master Reviewing the Mar-a-Lago Documents?
September 15, 2022 8:49 PM
On Thursday night, Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the Federal District Court in Brooklyn was appointed the special master to evaluate the over 11,000 documents seized by federal officials during an August search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and determine if any should be kept from criminal investigators due to privilege.
In her Sept. 15 ruling appointing Dearie, Cannon reaffirmed that the special master’s search will include classified documents, but directed Dearie to prioritize those documents “as a matter of timing.” She also reaffirmed that the FBI cannot access those classified materials until Dearie’s work is complete.
Dearie will now be tasked with reviewing the thousands of documents taken by the FBI during the unprecedented search of the former President’s home to make recommendations on whether any should be shielded from federal officials due to attorney-client or executive privilege. Trump’s team and DOJ have also sparred over Dearie’s timeline. DOJ has requested the review to end by Oct. 17, while Trump’s team has proposed mid-December, after the midterm elections.
Cannon said Thursday that Dearie will need to complete his review of materials by November 30—a timeline more similar to what Trump’s legal counsel had suggested. But she also stated that Dearie will need to propose his own timeline, and said the November deadline could shift subject to his proposals. Cannon also said that Dearie must submit interim reports and recommendations throughout his work, meaning he could make recommendations on key documents before his entire review is complete.
In 2012, Dearie was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to serve a seven-year term on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, also known as the FISA court. The 11 body court—which the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act established in 1978—reviews requests for warrants by the U.S. government to conduct electronic surveillance, physical searches, or other investigative actions related to foreign intelligence.
In 2017, Dearie was among the FISA court judges who approved the FBI and Justice Department’s request to surveil then-Trump campaign foreign policy advisor Carter Page as part of its inquiry into potential Russian interference in the 2016 election. Two of four of those warrants were later declared invalid after a 2019 review by the Inspector General found errors and omissions in the applications to surveil Page.
https://time.com/6213290/raymond-dearie-special-master-trump-investigation/