Executive Branch

Justice Department and Trump Submit Dispute Logs to Special Master Dearie

Hyemin Han
Friday, October 21, 2022, 6:05 PM

According to the Justice Department, 11 documents remain under dispute. 

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As a part of his Oct. 7 order, Judge Dearie had directed the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump “to confer and attempt to resolve or narrow the disputes regarding claims of executive privilege and designations pursuant to the Presidential Records Act” for certain materials seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. On Oct. 20,  the Justice Department filed a letter reporting that the parties had met the previous day, but had failed to resolve disputes pertaining to 11 of the documents. According to the Justice Department, of those 11 documents, nine involved disputes over the proper characterization—specifically, whether they were Presidential records or personal records—and four involved disputes about executive privilege. (The department claimed that two of the documents involved both kinds of disputes.)

This afternoon, Trump asserted that the Justice Department had mischaracterized his position with regard to Documents 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 16, stating that he "was surprised that the Defendant did not attempt to confirm the contents of its log ... to ensure the parties’ respective positions were accurately represented."

You can read the Justice Department's filing and Trump's filing here or below:

 


Hyemin Han is an associate editor of Lawfare and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked in eviction defense and has interned on Capitol Hill and with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College, where she was editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth independent daily.

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