Cake-eaters. Judge Dearie refers to having and eating cake as the latest Trump lawyer claims that the NARA is a “political entity”, which caused Andrew Weissman to opine that it’s like making his public library a political threat. Trump won’t get the end of November delay. We still don’t know why Trump took the swag, and it was a naïve inference to assume that because Dearie was involved in the Carter Page FISA, that he would in general mistrust the FBI.
Special Master to Trump lawyers: “If the government gives me prima facia evidence that they are classified documents, and you don’t advance any claim of declassification, I’m left with a prima facia case of classified documents, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it,”
NEW YORK — The senior federal judge tasked with reviewing the materials seized by the FBI from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate sharply questioned the former president’s attorneys Tuesday during their first hearing before his courtroom.
Judge Raymond Dearie pushed Trump’s lawyers repeatedly for refusing to back up the former president’s claim that he declassified the highly sensitive national security-related records discovered in his residence.
“You can’t have your cake and eat it,” said Dearie, the “special master” picked by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon to vet Trump’s effort to reclaim the materials taken by federal investigators.
[...]
The early tension between Dearie and Trump’s legal team was an ominous sign for the former president, who demanded the special master review the documents taken from Mar-a-Lago and who proposed Dearie — a 1986 appointee of Ronald Reagan — to perform the task. Prosecutors had offered two other names, but acceded to Trump’s choice of Dearie.
Trump’s legal team entered the Brooklyn courthouse about a half hour before the hearing, braving jeers from a smattering of protesters, including one shouting, “Indict Trump!”
www.politico.com/…
This is truly the soundtrack of my nightmares, people who sound demonically possessed yelling "MUUUUTE" at inhuman decibel levels and getting increasingly furious that no one is listening. Moral: Never dial in 20 minutes early.
Someone is now piping elevator music into the call after another caller sang America the Beautiful. Another man hypnotically reciting "Trump is a criminal." Since I dialed in, a woman has been shrieking "Mute your phones!" consistently every 10-15 seconds.
UPDATE: The situation has improved from Satanic screaming orgy to earsplitting metallic scraping. Looks like we're almost ready to begin the hearing. .@joshgerstein, who is in the courtroom, says there is a concerted effort by the technologists in EDNY to mute the rabble.
There appear to be hundreds of people who seem unconcerned that the nationally significant hearing that began 20 minutes ago remains completely inaudible and are just obliviously chattering away, no thought of hanging up.
THE DIAL-IN IS WORKING NOW!!!!!! NOBODY CALL IN BECAUSE YOU MIGHT CRASH THE SYSTEM.
... And the hearing has ended. Stay tuned for my hard-hitting roundup of the 90 audible seconds of pleasantries and farewells between the parties and what it means for the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
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