Sarah Isgur, a former senior official in the Department of Justice, says the special master in former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents case is challenging him to “put up or shut up” regarding some of the public statements he’s made.
Why it matters: Isgur’s comments on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, are the latest among members of the GOP, as well as some Trump allies, who have voiced opposition to some of the president’s claims regarding the materials discovered during the Mar-a-Lago search.
- The most recent opposition has come after Trump claimed last week that the president has the power to declassify documents “by thinking about it.”
What they’re saying: Isgur called it “fascinating” that Trump’s team picked U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie, who served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and has dealt with so much with classified material, as one of the special master candidates.
- Isgur said Dearie is telling Trump’s lawyers that they need to say clearly in court “whether the president ever declassified anything” and “whether they actually believe and have evidence that anything was planted at Mar-a-Lago.”
- “All the things that Trump has said publicly, this judge is saying put up or shut up,” Isgur said.
What’s next: Dearie has given Trump’s legal team until Friday to give evidence regarding some of the claims they have made regarding the FBI’s search of his Florida residence.
- Those claims include allegations that the FBI planted evidence during the Aug. 8 search.
- Dearie also told the DOJ to give a detailed inventory of the nonclassified items taken from Mar-a-Lago to Trump’s legal team by Monday.
- Trump’s lawyers have until Friday to provide the special master with a “declaration” that the FBI is “incorrectly describing” any of the items on the list.
- “This submission shall be Plaintiff’s final opportunity to raise any factual dispute as to the completeness and accuracy of the Detailed Property Inventory,” Dearie wrote.
Read More: Special master will force Trump to “put up or shut up” : Ex-DOJ official
