Legal expert 'astonished' by DOJ's Trump rebuttal: 'Undermined their credibility'
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley questions actions taken by Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice in Trump’s pursuit of a special master.
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley unpacked the Department of Justice's response to former President Trump's request for a special master on "America Reports" on Thursday, arguing that Trump's team "has the better argument" and is likely to get a special master to assist reviewing the FBI's retrieved documents.
DOJ FILING ON TRUMP RAID ‘SPECIAL MASTER’ REQUEST: READ THE DOCUMENT
JONATHAN TURLEY: I think that the Trump team has the better argument here. I said earlier that I considered the DOJ filing exceedingly weak on these legal points. I'm actually astonished that Merrick Garland would sign off on this filing or if he ever read it, because as a former judge he's very familiar with special masters. They are regularly appointed. They're an extension of the authority of the court. They're there to help create a record for the court to render decisions on the merits of motions. I just was really astonished by the absolutism of the DOJ's statements. I think it really undermined their credibility. I expect the judge will appoint a special master. Indeed, if I was drafting that DOJ filing, I would have definitely thrown a flag on the play and said, "Do we really want to do this?" I mean a lot of judges would push back on some of these assertions and to say, really, because I've been a judge for a long time and we appoint special masters to assist us in cases like this.
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO BELOW:
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.