Masters of the universe: Here are the nominees for special master in Trump raid investigation

The Department of Justice and attorneys for Donald Trump submitted a list of potential nominees to be appointed as the special master over the investigation into classified documents found at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home.

The department and Trump’s legal team each submitted two names to a federal judge for consideration to be appointed as the special master, allowing that person to act as a third party to review the materials taken from Mar-a-Lago. The list comes in response to a ruling from District Court Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this week that the DOJ cannot continue reviewing the documents until a third party looks at the materials to see if they are protected by attorney-client or executive privileges.

The DOJ appealed this ruling on Thursday, arguing the decision puts its investigation and national security at risk. However, lawyers for the former president argue a special master is necessary because the DOJ conducted an “unjustified pursuit” of Trump’s home and seized declassified materials that had nothing to do with their search while recovering government documents.

Here are the four candidates under consideration to be appointed as special master:

TRUMP AND DOJ PROPOSE CANDIDATES TO SERVE AS SPECIAL MASTER

(Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Thomas Griffith, Justice Department nominee

The DOJ proposed nominating retired judge Thomas Griffith as the special master in the investigation.

Griffith, a George W. Bush appointee, boasts a lengthy career in law, serving as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020. One of his final major rulings before his retirement was the rejection of House Democrats’ attempts to subpoena Trump’s former White House counsel Don McGahn — a decision that was later overturned.

Since retiring, Griffith co-wrote a report that sought to dismantle Trump’s claims about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Barbara Jones, Justice Department nominee

The Justice Department’s second nominee was Barbara Jones, a retired judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Jones, who retired after serving on the court from 1995 to 2012, brings special master experience, serving in that position for three other high-profile criminal investigations.

Jones was appointed as the special master after the FBI raided the home and office of Rudy Giuliani in April 2021 to ensure none of the documents were protected from attorney-client privilege. She was also tapped for the position in the Michael Cohen case in 2018.

Most recently, Jones served as the special master to review materials seized by the FBI from Project Veritas to ensure the materials that were taken did not violate the First Amendment or attorney-client privileges.

Paul Huck Jr., Trump nominee

Trump’s legal team recommended Paul Huck Jr., a lawyer who previously represented the Trump campaign in 2016, be appointed as the special master.

Huck has a long career working in law, previously serving as a partner at the Jones Day law firm before opening his own law practice and working as a contributor to the conservative Federalist Society. He also worked as the deputy attorney general in Florida.

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Raymond Dearie, Trump nominee

Trump’s second nomination was Raymond Dearie, the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Dearie, a Reagan nominee, retired from the court in 2011 and now serves as a senior judge on the circuit. The former judge also served on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for seven years, and he was one of the judges who approved a request from the FBI and the DOJ to surveil Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page as part of their investigation into whether Russia interfered with the 2016 election.