The fight over who will be first to review the materials seized from President Trump’s personal attorney rages on, with both Michael Cohen’s lawyers and federal prosecutors submitting a list of names for the job.
Just before midnight Tuesday, Cohen’s team of Todd Harrison and Stephen Ryan suggested to U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood four people to be a “special master.”
That person, who Judge Wood would have to agree to, would sift through the materials seized from Cohen’s home, office, and hotel room by FBI investigators on April 9 to decide which do not violate attorney-client privilege and can be seen and used by prosecutors.
Cohen’s team suggested Bart Schwartz, John McPhee, Tai Park, and George S. Canellos:
- Bart Schwartz is a former assistant U.S. attorney for Rudy Giuliani.
- John McPhee is a former assistant U.S. attorney who helped successfully defend a Deepwater Horizon driller against federal charges.
- Tai Park currently focuses on white collar crime defense, and was a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
- George S. Canellos oversaw some of the Securities and Exchange Commissions most high-profile cases while running its Enforcement Division, and was also a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
Federal prosecutors suggested three retired judges from the Southern District of New York to head up the “taint team,” or a group of independent prosecutors not part of the Cohen case:
- Frank Mass, who is currently associated with JAMS, which bills itself as “the nation’s premier provider of commercial dispute resolution services.”
- James C. Francis IV, a lecturer at CUNY law school.
- Theodore Katz, who is also with JAMS, and once awarded the Miss Universe Organization — which is owned by Trump — $5 million in a defamation settlement.
Prosecutors also said in a Wednesday court filing they would likely give Cohen copies of the materials seized beginning April 27 and ending by May 11.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union said the judge should side with Cohen’s lawyers and appoint a special master.
[ACLU lawyer sides with Trump lawyer Michael Cohen]
Both sides requested a May 25 court date for a status conference to determine if a “special master” or “taint team” will be appointed.
The Justice Department confirmed last week that Cohen is under federal criminal investigation, but more specifics are unknown.
