About Those "Delaying Tactics"

Judge: I follow directions. I do what I'm told....We are going to proceed with what I call responsible dispatch.

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 20, 2022

Judge says speakers are free to take masks off. Edelstein speaks for govt says DOJ ready to give docs to vendor by tomorrow. Trusty says they just got the lost of five. Asks for Friday to pick a vendor. Judge says: Let's do it tomorrow.

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 20, 2022

🤣🤣🤣

Trusty stands by position that they don't want right now to detail what may have been declassified or when. 'We're not in a position nor should we be in a position at this juncture to fully disclose a substantive defense'

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 20, 2022

I do love what follows:

Trusty now railing against NARA, calls it 'highly politicized,' talks about trigger warning disclaimer on NARA website, also refs late Sandy Berger's docs in the socks/pants. Dearie calls that 'broad brush' but says he will give notice before consulting NARA.

— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) September 20, 2022

If the documents are classified, neither Trusty nor anyone on his team (or in his office) or at MAL (including Trump) can "see" those documents. And "irreparable harm" occurs if they do. That's what "classified documents" are. The attack on NARA is just grandstanding nonsense. Trusty has nothing on his side so he's pounding the table. Juries might be impressed; retired federal judges aren't.

So far Judge Dearie is asking the sensible questions Judge Cannon should have asked but, for whatever reason, didn’t. https://t.co/Tu6aPJ22rL

— ResponsibleDispatchHat (@Popehat) September 20, 2022

Big from Dearie:

He presses Trump’s lawyers on what he’s supposed to do. The government provided “prima facie evidence” of classification, ie, the markings.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) September 20, 2022

JUDGE: “As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.”

This cannot get lost in translation. There are mechanisms to properly challenge govt classification decisions.

But Trump is not engaged in one of them. https://t.co/Utitl6IlI9

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 20, 2022

🤡

Truly remarkable that some members of prosecution team still don't have necessary clearance to see all of the seized classified docs, which DOJ asserts are critical to conducting the investigation. Only explanation is some of docs have extraordinarily high levels of protection. https://t.co/sqoX4Es71y

— Brandon Van Grack (@BVanGrack) September 20, 2022

I have made that "need to know" argument so many times over decades. I persuaded federal judge of this once. DC Cir reversed.

I wish it were otherwise but Trusty hasn't done his homework. When arguing access to classified info one needs to thread a needle not use sledgehammer. https://t.co/wklMcLjheU

— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) September 20, 2022

Zaid is the guy Trump needed for this case. Zaid is also too smart to work for Trump.