Crimes of the powerful: Why the Mar-a-Lago "special master" decision is so dreadful

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Crimes of the powerful: Why the Mar-a-Lago "special master" decision is so dreadful
Our justice system is already deeply unfair. Insisting on a higher bar for Trump's prosecution only makes it worse

By GREGG BARAK
Contributing Writer
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 6:30AM


(Salon) When it comes to the crimes of the powerful, whether we are talking about Wall Street fraudsters, multinational corporate offenders or ex-presidents of the United States under investigation for seditious conspiracy or espionage, the bar for prosecution should be of a lower rather than of a higher nature. Why? Because the social realities of justice in America are already stacked in favor of the powerful perpetrators of crime.

To hold such accused perpetrators to a higher bar for indictment or prosecution only serves to reinforce the existing biases of our justice system, favoring the powerful at the expense of almost everyone else in society.

In the case of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's decision to appoint a special master in the case of Donald Trump's purloined documents, recently seized by the FBI in its search of Mar-a-Lago, Duke law professor Sam Buell tweeted that "Donald Trump is getting something no one else ever gets in federal court, he's getting it for no good reason, and it will not in the slightest reduce the ongoing howls that he is being persecuted, when he is being privileged."

Similarly, Andrew Weissmann, who has 20 years of experience as a federal prosecutor and 10 years as a defense attorney, tweeted: "In none of the rare Special Master appointment cases — of attorneys like [Michael] Cohen and [Rudy] Giuliani — did the court ENJOIN the criminal investigation. Less factual merit and far worse legal ruling."

Weissmann refers to the fact that Cannon's order prevents the Justice Department from using the documents in question as part of its criminal investigation into Trump, at least until the not-yet-appointed special master has gone through those thousands of pages. ...........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2022/09/07/of-the-powerful-why-the-mar-a-lago-special-master-decision-is-so/