The Justice Department said it has already identified and reviewed a “limited set” of records that “potentially” include “attorney-client privileged information” among the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
The Monday revelation from top DOJ officials came in response to a federal judge saying she was leaning toward granting former President Donald Trump’s request for an independent “special master” to review the information that the FBI had seized during its unprecedented raid of his Florida resort home.
REDACTED AFFIDAVIT JUSTIFYING MAR-A-LAGO RAID RELEASED
The Justice Department said its “Privilege Review Team” has already “identified a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information, completed its review of those materials, and is in the process of following the procedures set forth in paragraph 84 of the search warrant affidavit to address potential privilege disputes.”
Additionally, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are “facilitating a classification review of materials recovered pursuant to the search.”
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon said in a Saturday order that she was providing notice of her “preliminary intent to appoint a special master in this case” and noted that the decision was made due to the “exceptional circumstances presented.”
A hearing on the motion to commission a special master, also known as a third-party attorney, will be held this Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the DOJ is required to provide more information before then.
Last week, lawyers for the former president filed a motion requesting the appointment of a special master to assess the records, arguing that the raid of his Palm Beach golf club and winter residence was a “shockingly aggressive move.”
Cannon ordered the Justice Department to file a further response by Wednesday, also ordering Trump’s legal team to respond to the defense’s response before Thursday’s hearing.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in their initial filing last week requesting a special master: “Law enforcement is a shield that protects America. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes. Therefore, we seek judicial assistance in the aftermath of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid.”
The heavily redacted affidavit justifying the FBI’s search was also publicly released by the Justice Department on Friday.
“The government is conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records,” the newly unsealed affidavit dated Aug. 5 said, revealing that the investigation “began as a result of a referral” from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Justice Department on Feb. 9.
The Justice Department filed its proposed redactions to the Trump raid affidavit under seal Thursday morning, and Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who had signed the Aug. 5 warrant for the Aug. 8 raid, ruled Thursday afternoon that the DOJ had to file that redacted affidavit on the public docket by noon Friday. The records were unsealed after noon because the court docket website repeatedly crashed.
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President Joe Biden scoffed at Trump’s legal defense when talking to reporters on Friday, saying, “I just want you to know I’ve declassified everything in the world. I’m president, I can do — c’mon.”
Trump had called for the affidavit to be released in full.
