Secret Documents at Trump: Who is the New Special Advisor?

The dispute over the documents confiscated in Donald Trump’s private home continues. Raymond Dearie is the name of the special assessor who is now appointed to review the documents. What to expect from him?

Raymond Dearie, 78 years old, is an experienced lawyer. He was a federal judge in New York and has experience in difficult cases involving classified documents that are under special public scrutiny.

Observers speak of a neutral position

Dearie himself has not yet commented on his new role. Lawyers who know him well have expressed the impression in various US media such as the New York Times, CNN and NPR that he is fair, reliable and by no means clearly to be assigned to one side or the other. So neither the Trump camp nor the current Biden administration.

Dearie was appointed as a federal judge at the age of 41 by then Republican President Ronald Reagan.

allegations against the judge

Judge Aileen Cannon, who has now fulfilled the request of Trump’s lawyers for a special expert and formally commissioned Dearie, is still criticized. Cannon is clearly assigned to the Trump camp.

Legal expert and former CIA employee David Priess said in a CNN interview that Judge Cannon really wanted to delay the investigation of the affair beyond the November 8 midterm elections from the beginning.

Result could affect future elections

Cannon has also questioned the classification of documents found on Trump that were stamped secret. According to Priess, this is just an excuse for the delay.

In the end, the legal issue is whether Donald Trump has committed a criminal offense by taking secret documents into his private home and whether he will be formally charged. Politically, it’s about the electoral chances of both sides in the congressional elections in early November – and ultimately about Donald Trump’s chances of running again as a presidential candidate in 2024.