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The BulleTin • Wednesday, sepTemBer 21, 2022 A13 Review of Trump documents to move quickly, arbiter says BY ERIC TUCKER AND MICHAEL R. SISAK associated press The independent arbiter inspect- ing documents seized in an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home said Tuesday he intends to push briskly through the review process and appeared skeptical of the Trump team’s reluc- tance to say whether it believed the records had been declassified. “We’re going to proceed with what I call responsible dispatch,” Raymond Dearie, a veteran Brook- lyn judge, told lawyers for Trump and the Justice Department in their first meeting since his appointment last week as a so-called special mas- ter. The purpose of the meeting was to sort out next steps in a review process expected to slow by weeks, if not months, the criminal investi- gation into the retention of top-se- cret information at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. As spe- cial master, Dearie will be responsi- ble for sifting through the thousands of documents recovered during the Aug. 8 FBI search and segregat- ing any that might be protected by claims of executive privilege or attor- ney-client privilege. Though Trump’s lawyers had re- quested the appointment of a special master to ensure an independent review of the documents, they have resisted Dearie’s request for more information about whether the seized records had been previously declassified — as Trump has main- tained. His lawyers have consistently stopped short of that claim even as they asserted in a separate filing Tuesday that the Justice Department had not proven that the documents were classified. In any event, they say, a president has absolute author- ity to declassify information. “In the case of someone who has been president of the United States, they have unfettered access along with unfettered declassification au- thority,” one of Trump’s lawyers, James Trusty, said in court Tuesday. But Dearie said that if Trump’s lawyers will not actually assert that the records have been declassified, and the Justice Department instead makes an acceptable case that they remain classified, then he would be inclined to regard them as classified. Brittainy newman/ap Protesters stand outside as former President Donald Trump’s lawyers enter Brook- lyn Federal Court on Tuesday in New York. Lawyers for Trump and for the Justice Department appeared in federal court in Brooklyn before a veteran judge named last week as special master to review the roughly 11,000 documents taken during the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump’s attorneys Evan Corcoran and James Trusty walk past media at Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday, in New York. Brittainy newman/ap “As far as I’m concerned,” he said, “that’s the end of it.” In a letter to Dearie on Monday night, the lawyers said the declassifi- cation issue might be part of Trump’s defense in the event of an indict- ment. And Trusty said in court Tues- day that the Trump team should not be forced at this point in the inves- tigation to disclose details of a pos- sible defense based on the idea the records had been declassified. He denied that the lawyers were trying to engage in “gamesman-like” behavior but instead said it was a process that required “baby steps.” He said the right time for the discus- sion is whenever Trump presses for- ward with a claim to get any seized property back. Dearie said he understood the po- sition but observed, “I guess my view of it is, you can’t have your cake and eat it” too. The resistance to the judge’s re- quest was notable because it was Trump’s lawyers, not the Justice De- partment, who had requested the appointment of a special master and because the recalcitrance included an acknowledgment that the probe could be building toward an indict- ment. Despite the focus on whether the seized documents are classified or not, the three statutes the Justice De- partment listed on a warrant as part of its investigation do not require that the mishandled information be classified in order for prosecutors to initiate a criminal case. U.S. District Judge Aileen Can- non, a Trump appointee who granted the Trump team’s request for a special master, had set a Nov. 30 deadline for Dearie’s review and instructed him to prioritize the tranche of classified records. Council Continued from A1 People with concealed carry per- mits could potentially be exempt from a city ordinance banning the possession of a loaded firearm, said Ian Leitheiser, assistant city attorney for Bend. With over 17,000 concealed carry permits in Deschutes County, according to Oregon State Police, the impact of such ordinances is unclear. Kebler said she was unsure if any of these regulatory efforts would pre- vent a shooting like the one Aug. 28, when a gunman killed two people at the grocery store before taking his own life. “We’re all struggling in our own ways with it. You can feel anger. You can feel despair,” Kebler said at a Sept. 7 City Council meeting. While Kebler said she has been ad- vocating for stricter gun control for years, she said she does not know if council action would have occurred without the Safeway shooting. “It increased our momentum,” Kebler told The Bulletin, adding: “I want to make sure as a city we’re looking at all of our options.” Campbell said she is frustrated with the impacts of gun violence on everyday activities and the lack of challenges to the Second Amend- ment. “Our First Amendment rights have become under threat because of our Second Amendment rights,” Camp- bell said. “Our freedom to move about is being taken away from us.” Possible points of discussion for Wednesday’s meeting include the potential city policy action, council- wide support for ballot Measure 114, called the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, and education efforts for red flag laws. Red flag laws allow family mem- bers, roommates or law enforcement officials to petition a judge to remove firearms from someone’s possession if the person is believed to be an ex- treme risk. Oregon is one of 21 states that re- quires background checks or permits for handgun purchases. Measure 114 would extend this requirement fur- ther and mandate purchasers to pass a gun safety training class and a live- fire training session. The measure would also outlaw the manufacture, purchase and use of magazines con- taining more than 10 rounds. Obtaining a permit would require criminal background checks, which would close a loophole in current state law that allows the sale of the firearm if the background check is not completed within three days. Permits would have a fee and would be valid for five years. If the measure passes, the penalty for a violation would be a Class A misdemeanor or a Class C felony if one has prior con- victions. If passed, Measure 114 would cost local governments up to $51.2 mil- lion in the first year and up to $47.5 million in subsequent years to get the permit-to-purchase process up and running, according to a draft state estimate from July. Expenditures on the state level would increase up to $21.1 million during the 2023-2025 biennium. Estimated revenue for lo- cal governments could be up to $19.5 million per year, and revenue for state government is estimated to gar- ner up to $23.5 million from back- ground check fees. The National Rifle Association is opposed to Measure 114, citing con- cerns of unconstitutionality and in- fringement of privacy on its website. The local Friends of NRA chapter could not be reached for comment. Kebler, Campbell, Councilor Me- gan Perkins, Mayor Pro Tem An- thony Broadman and Mayor Gena Goodman-Campbell have said they support Measure 114. The other two City Council members, Mo Mitch- ell and Stephen Sehgal, could not be reached for comment. The work ses- sion on Wednesday will determine whether the entire council will pub- licly support the measure. The city of Redmond could also be examining possible council action on gun restrictions this month. Red- mond City Councilor Ed Fitch said he heard community concerns and anxieties surrounding gun safety af- ter the Bend Safeway shooting, which prompted him to propose the coun- cil discuss city ordinances to restrict loaded weapons and assault-type weapons within city limits at the next meeting on Sept. 27. “It’s not an issue of controlling guns,” Fitch told The Bulletin. He said, instead, it was a matter of the community feeling safe in parks and public spaces. Councilor Krisanna Clark-End- icott, who said she has a concealed carry permit, has opposed such changes. “I do not believe it is our position to put gun control in front of the council and put parameters around gun control when we have solid cit- izens carrying guns safely,” she said during a Redmond council meeting Sept. 13. Fitch, who is also running for Red- mond’s mayoral seat, said any discus- sion of regulations would be up to the council. █ Reporter: 541-633-2160 akaminski@bendbulletin.com
