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A federal judge on Saturday indicated she is inclined to grant former President Donald Trump’s request for an independent “special master” to review boxes of classified documents and other materials seized by federal authorities from his Florida compound nearly three weeks
In a brief two-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon gave the government until Tuesday to present its arguments on the matter while scheduling a court hearing for Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump’s legal team had filed the request on Monday, asking the court to appoint an outside expert on the matter, calling the FBI’s politically motivated search of his Mar-a-Lago home overly broad. and “surprisingly aggressive”. Lawyers for the former president claimed that federal authorities seized records to which they were not legally entitled.
While the judge, who was appointed by Trump to the post in 2020, appeared inclined to appoint a special master, she said her order “should not be read as a final determination on the plaintiff’s motion.” .
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal authorities took about two dozen boxes of materials from Mar-a-Lago during the search, including 11 sets of classified documents, some of them classified as top secret. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told lawmakers in Congress on Friday that U.S. intelligence analysts will conduct a national security assessment and a classified review of the materials.
After Trump filed his initial request, Cannon had asked him and his lawyers to clarify what they were asking the court in their 27-page filing and to address jurisdictional issues.
In his ruling Saturday, Cannon ordered the Justice Department to release under seal a more detailed list of the materials the FBI had taken. He also asked for an update on the federal government’s review.
Trump’s lawyers want a special master to return any information taken from Trump’s property that goes beyond the scope of the search warrant and to leave out any material that should be shielded from review by the Trump administration. government because of executive privilege.
In the past, special masters have generally been appointed in cases of attorney-client privilege, not executive privilege. Additionally, the FBI has been in possession of the files since August 8 and has been reviewing them. Many of the documents require the highest levels of security clearances to view, so any special master may need these clearances to examine them.
What’s in the partially redacted Mar-a-Lago affidavit
According to a partially redacted affidavit, unsealed Friday, agents conducting the search were looking for all “physical documents and records that constitute evidence, contraband, proceeds of crime or other items illegally possessed in violation of three potential crimes,” including a portion of the Espionage Act that prohibits the collection, transmission, or loss of national defense information. The order also cites the destruction of records and the concealment or mutilation of government material.
The search is part of a criminal investigation into whether Trump and his aides took classified government documents and failed to return them all, despite demands from senior officials.
Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.