Former US President Donald Trump on Monday asked a federal court to temporarily block the FBI from reviewing documents it seized two weeks ago from his Florida home, until a special expert can may be appointed to supervise the review.
Trump’s petition, filed in a federal court in West Palm Beach, Fla., also asks the U.S. Department of Justice to provide him with a more detailed property receipt that outlines the items. items the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago home during an August 8 search, and asked investigators to return any items that were outside the scope of the search warrant.
“Politics cannot be allowed to influence the administration of justice,” the filing reads. “Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes,” it added.
A special master may sometimes be appointed in very sensitive cases to review seized documents and ensure that investigators are not reviewing privileged information.
When FBI agents raided the homes of former Trump attorneys Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan requested the appointment of a special counsel.
A US federal judge has sealed a search warrant used on former US president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The Justice Department has released a brief list of what FBI agents have seized, including 20 boxes of documents that may violate US espionage laws.
Trump’s request was assigned to US District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump. A Justice Department spokesman said prosecutors would submit their response to the court.
“The August 8 search warrant at Mar-a-Lago was authorized by a federal court based on a request to find probable cause,” said spokesman Anthony Coley.
Judge Bruce Reinhart, the judge who approved the subpoena, is considering whether to ask the Justice Department to release a copy of the affidavit to provide evidence for a possible search of Trump’s home.
The Justice Department at a court hearing last week objected to the disclosure, saying it would offer a “roadmap” to the investigation and could chill witness cooperation.
In a court order filed earlier on Monday, Reinhart said he agreed those were legitimate concerns, but said he wanted to find out if there was “a less troublesome alternative to the seal the entire document or not.”
US Judge Bruce Reinhart said he was leaning towards releasing some of the evidence used to justify the US Justice Department’s search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last week.
The Justice Department has until noon on Thursday to provide him with a recompiled copy of the document he is likely to release to the public.
The August 8 raid of Mar-a-Lago marks a significant escalation in one of many federal and state investigations Trump has faced since his time in office and private business.
After Trump and his allies complained in the media that the search was politically motivated, US Attorney General Merrick Garland asked the court to release a copy of the search warrant and the receipt. property outlines the retrieved items.
The search is part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe. Biden or not.
During the search, the FBI seized 11 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, some of which were labeled “top secret” – the highest classification for security information. most closely held country in the United States and can only be viewed in special government facilities.
It is unclear whether Trump waited too long to seek the appointment of a special master.
Last week, Trump released a redacted August 15 email he received from Jay Bratt, the head of counterintelligence, who said he had deployed a “filter” group of special agents. The task is to remove privileged documents.
