As we have reported before, Politico found several sources that said that Trump’s team offered up U.S. Sr. District Judge Raymond Dearie, a judge with an impeccable reputation, because Trump’s team believed that everyone uses Trumpian logic. Judge Dearie had extensive experience with FISA matters and had been the judge in the Carter Page matter. In that case, an attorney for the FBI lied in an affidavit, and thus team Trump believed that Dearie wouldn’t believe the FBI, or at least be much more suspicious.
They must have overlooked the fact that Judge Dearie has over 20 years of experience on the federal bench and has read hundreds, perhaps thousands of FBI affidavits and seen that 99% are truthful, and it’s rare to deal with an attorney who outright lied.
But even dumber – from the Trump team’s perspective, is that Dearie doesn’t have to consider any FBI action, only look at the documents and determine this weird privilege request which is a pure question of law. It is as if they expected Dearie to hold a grudge and protect Trump.
Instead, Dearie proved that he wasn’t f’ing around and wanted all evidence that Trump declassified the documents. The consensus is there is no evidence, and Trump has even implied that he could declassify a document by just looking at it as president. Judge Dearie wants evidence and wants it now.
Judge Dearie: “If the Government essentially gives me prima facie evidence that these are classified documents and you … decide not to advance any claims of declassification … I’m left with a prima facie case of classified documents. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end.”
Judge Dearie: "If the Government essentially gives me prima facie evidence that these are classified documents and you … decide not to advance any claims of declassification … I'm left with a prima facie case of classified documents. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 21, 2022 [1]
Yes, that is the end, and that is the result that the government expected from Judge Cannon and the 11th Circuit. Trump’s attorneys mostly wanted a delay. It sure looks like the other judges (special master and 11th Circuit) are having no problem getting this issue off their desks as fast as possible on behalf of DOJ. Cannon’s ruling was that bad.
Most people don’t use Trumpian logic.
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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, with Nicole Hickman