The special master in the Justice Department case involving former President Donald Trump’s documents seized from Mar-a-Lago could be a judge who signed off on a secret surveillance warrant on then-Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Judge Raymond Dearie was the same judge who approved the final Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to continue allowing the FBI to spy on Page as it was looking for any signs of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, based on a dossier of phony allegations paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
That FISA warrant came after then-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was aware that Page, a Navy reservist, had acted as a CIA informant but purposely hid that information, which was favorable to Page, by doctoring an email to falsely indicate that Page had not been a CIA informant. Clinesmith pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement and received 12 months of probation and a sentence of 400 hours of community service.
Dearie was one of the names submitted by Trump’s team to serve as special master in the case, causing surprise among both Trump supporters and critics.
Andrew Weissman, the lead prosecutor in the failed special counsel investigation helmed by Robert Mueller, called Trump’s decision to submit Dearie’s name as a “screw up.”
“Having their own SM choice rule against them will be fun to watch. Dearie is a model judge,” he tweeted.
However, according to Fox News, Dearie could be in a unique position to review actions taken by the FBI, given that he approved the FISA warrant based on falsified information by Clinesmith.
Judge Aileen Cannon is expected to decide this week on a special master, as well as the scope of what could be used by the Justice Department in its investigation.
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