A US judge on Monday granted Donald Trump’s request to appoint a “special master” to independently review material seized in an FBI raid on his Florida home, dealing a blow to prosecutors.
Government attorneys had opposed Trump’s request, arguing that appointing a special foreman to screen for privileged material could compromise national security and was also unnecessary because a team had already conducted a screening.
The decision could delay an investigation into Trump’s handling of classified material and is a boost for the former president, who has denounced the Aug. 8 raid as “one of the most egregious attacks on democracy in our country’s history” and has denied any wrongdoing.
Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in her order that “a special master should be appointed to review the confiscated property, administer and make recommendations on the enforcement of privileges, and consider claims for restitution of the property.”
The ruling – which temporarily bars the government from reviewing or using materials seized in the raid – made an exception for “intelligence classification and national security assessments”.
The judge gave both sides until Friday to present a list of candidates for the role of special master.
Trump is facing increasing legal pressure, with the Justice Department saying top secret documents were “likely hidden” to hamper an FBI investigation into Trump’s possible misuse of classified materials.
When agents searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, they found material so sensitive that “even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were allowed to review certain documents.” , according to an application by a government court.
– “High Rated” –
The FBI raid came after a review of “highly classified” records Trump finally turned over to authorities in January after months of back-and-forth with the National Archives and Records Administration.
The 15 boxes presented by Trump contained 184 documents marked as confidential, secret or top secret.
Eventually, at the request of the FBI, Trump’s lawyer turned over another 38 classified documents – and produced an “affidavit” that they were the latest material.
But the FBI uncovered “several sources of evidence” showing classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said he personally authorized the Mar-a-Lago raid and that the decision on whether to charge Trump with a crime ultimately rests with him.
Bill Barr, who held the same post during Trump’s presidency, said the government seemed justified in searching Trump’s home and he suspected authorities had “good” evidence of disability.
In addition to examining the documents, Trump faces investigations in New York into his business practices, a legal scrutiny over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump was impeached for a second historic time by the House of Representatives after the Capitol riots – he was accused of inciting a riot – but was acquitted by the Senate.
