Source: Ministry of Justice The Justice Department on Thursday appealed a federal judge’s decision to authorize a special master to review documents seized by the FBI from former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence. The move came three days after Judge Aileen Cannon approved Trump’s request for the outside guard to search the materials seized from the Mar-a-Lago resort to locate personal items and records protected by attorney-client privilege or executive privilege. . The DOJ had opposed that request, saying it had already completed a privileged review of the documents and that a special master could harm the government’s national security interests. The FBI seized more than ten thousand government records when it raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, last month. Many of those documents were classified, including dozens of folders that were empty when collected by the FBI. Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, wrote in her ruling Monday in the U.S. District of South Florida that “the country is best served by an orderly process that advances the interest and perception of justice.” The DOJ’s appeal was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which has appellate jurisdiction over cases from district courts in Florida. The Justice Department also asked Cannon to maintain her order, preventing further review and use of the seized classified documents for purposes of a criminal investigation. The Justice Department said in that request that it is likely to succeed in its appeal as it applies to the classified records, which represent a fraction of the documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Trump “does not claim and cannot claim that he owns or has any proprietary interest in classified records, that he has any right to have those government records returned to him, or that he can make reasonable claims of attorney-client privilege. records that would prevent the government from examining or using them,” the DOJ wrote. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
