The Justice Department and Donald Trump’s legal team each proposed candidates Friday for the role of an independent arbiter in the investigation into top-secret documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

The Justice Department proposed Barbara S. Jones, a retired judge nominated by former President Bill Clinton, and Thomas B. Griffith.

Trump’s legal team proposed Raymond J. Dearie and Paul Huck Jr.

While the names were proposed, the two sides differed on the scope of duties the person would have. Both sides will respond to the other’s proposed candidates on Monday.

Also Read | Who is Barbara S. Jones?

Who is Thomas B. Griffith?

Griffith is a retired appeals court judge who was nominated by former President George W. Bush. He was a US circuit judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2020.

Born in Yokohama, Japan, the 68-year-old attended high school at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia. During his junior year of high school, he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Griffith graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1978 with an Honors B.A. summa cum laude. While at BYU, Griffith took a two-year leave of absence to serve as a Mormon missionary in South Africa. He studied law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an editor of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated in 1985 with a Juris Doctor.

He worked in private legal practice in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1985 to 1989. From 1989 to 1995, Griffith was a litigation partner at Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C. Griffith left private practice in 1995 to serve as Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the U.S. Senate.

Also Read | Mar-a-Lago documents review: Trump, DOJ propose special master candidates

President George W. Bush first nominated Griffith to the D.C. Circuit on May 10, 2004, to fill a seat vacated by retired Judge Patricia M. Wald. His nomination replaced that of Miguel Estrada.

On June 14, 2005, the Senate confirmed Griffith by a vote of 73–24.

In April 2021, President Joe Biden named Griffith to the new Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Griffith married Susan Ann Stell and they are the parents of six children.