Judge withholds ruling on special master in Trump, DOJ battle
A federal judge on Thursday declined to issue an immediate decision in a case brought by former President Trump whose attorneys asked the court to appoint a third party legal expert to review evidence seized by the FBI when they searched his Florida home.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon said she will issue a ruling at some point on whether to appoint a so-called special master to review the evidence and temporarily block the Justice Department’s investigation into the mishandling of classified records due to their storage at Mar-a-Lago. She did not specify a timeline for when she might issue that decision.
Cannon last Saturday wrote that it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master, but that was before each side made its case during Thursday’s hearing.
The Miami Herald reported that during Thursday’s hearing, it was revealed that more than 300 classified documents had been obtained by federal authorities since Trump left office. Those documents were either turned over by Trump or seized during the search at Mar-a-Lago, the news outlet reported.
The hearing came after the Justice Department filed a lengthy brief asking the court to reject Trump’s request, arguing investigators not assigned to the case have already reviewed the evidence to scan for personal property as well as any materials that might be covered by attorney-client privilege.
Trump’s legal team has argued that a special master would help shield the government from obtaining any information that should not have been swept up in the search. But they’ve also argued Trump had a right to retain presidential records due to executive privilege.
The government has flatly rejected that argument, noting that presidential records are property of the government and must be managed by the National Archives.
The department has also expressed concerns that the appointment could delay the investigation, in part because a special master probably would need to obtain a security clearance to review the records and special authorization from intelligence agencies.
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Source: TEST FEED1
