⚖️ Former President Donald Trump’s battle with the FBI over its search of Mar-a-Lago has moved from South Florida to New York City, where a court-appointed “special master” on Tuesday indicated he has a very simple test for whether he sides with the Department of Justice. The special master, Raymond J. Dearie, said Tuesday that if Trump’s lawyers don't officially counter whether the documents the former president took are classified, then Dearie will side with the DOJ. “As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it,” he said. Dearie, a semi-retired federal judge in Brooklyn who’s playing the role of temporary referee, wants to speed up the process and get federal agents back on track. And while Trump has been alleging on social media that he already declassified the records he swiped from the White House, Dearie is demanding that Trump put up or shut up. The senior judge wants Trump’s team to clarify—in sworn affidavits where lies could mean jail time—whether or not Trump actually declassified them. He also cautioned Trump's lawyers not to be coy simply to avoid making mistakes and oversharing potentially damning information. “This is not a criminal case. The plaintiff has the burden of establishing his right to relief,” he said. When Trump lawyer James M. Trusty argued his team “shouldn't be in a position where we have to disclose... declassification defenses,” Dearie wasn’t having any of it. “You can't have your cake and eat it too,” Dearie shot back. @thedailybeast #justice #court #dearie #yesterday