US District Judge Aileen M. Cannon from the Southern District of Florida announced on Saturday, August 27 her “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” to review documents seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.
Trump’s legal team filed a motion on August 22 to have the seized records examined by independent review. The 45th president’s attorneys dispute the classification status of records contained in the 20 boxes of documents removed by the FBI during the unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago on August 8.
Judge Cannon said her decision was made after reviewing the filing by Mr. Trump’s lawyers and because of “the exceptional circumstances presented.” Cannon cited rule 53(b) (1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Justice Department must file a response by August 30. A hearing has been set for September 1.
A DOJ “taint” team has been reviewing the confiscated documents, as per departmental procedure but the former president’s attorneys are seeking to hand over that review to an independent party, the “special master,” yet to be named. Reportedly, Mr. Trump’s legal team has already been informed that some of the records taken by FBI agents included material covered by attorney-client privilege.
Read the order from Judge Cannon in full:
The Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit, including redactions, can be viewed at Liberty Nation here.
