Mar-a-Lago case: Trump's proposed independent expert named

A new chapter in the Mar-a-Lago case. Judge Aileen Cannon has appointed Judge Raymond Dearie as an independent expert witness in the investigation of the raid on Donald Trump's residence. Dearie is one of the expert witness candidates proposed by Donald Trump's defense.

Judge Cannon granted the former president's request for an auditor to maintain impartiality in the case and conduct an independent review of the documents seized by the FBI. The Department of Justice objected to the judge's decision and appealed the ruling, which Cannon rejected.

"The Court does not find it appropriate to accept the Government’s conclusions on these important and disputed issues without further review by a neutral third party in an expedited and orderly fashion," Judge Cannon asserted.

Dearie now has until November 30 to review the documentation. Trump nominated Judge Dearie despite the fact that he was one of the judges who approved a surveillance warrant requested by the FBI and the Justice Department on Carter Page, a former adviser to the former president's campaign.

In 1986, Ronald Reagan appointed Raymond Dearie as a judge of the U.S. District Court in New York, a position he held until his retirement in 2011. He has a long track record in criminal court cases involving national security.