The U.S. Justice Department and Donald Trump's legal team proposed candidates Friday for the role of an independent arbiter in the investigation into top-secret documents found at the former president's Florida home, but the two sides differed on the scope of duties the person would have.
Lawyers for Trump said they believe the so-called special master should review all documents seized by the FBI during its search last month of Mar-a-Lago, including records with classification markings, and filter out any that may be protected by claims of executive privilege.
The Justice Department submitted the names of two retired judges - Barbara Jones, who served on the federal bench in Manhattan and performed the same role in prior high-profile investigations, and Thomas Griffith, a former federal appeals court jurist in the District of Columbia. Over the strenuous objections of the Justice Department, Cannon on Monday granted the Trump team's request for the special master and directed the department to temporarily halt its review of records for investigative purposes.