A federal judge in Florida on Thursday deferred a ruling on Donald Trump’s request for a “special master” to review the documents seized by the FBI during last month’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not indicate after a two-hour hearing in West Palm Beach when she would decide.
The former president wants an outside review of the material taken, claiming that “executive privilege” did not permit its seizure. Prosecutors argued that Trump cannot argue executive privilege because both the National Archives and the Department of Justice are part of the executive branch, and that a DOJ “filter team” had already separated out documents covered by attorney-client privilege.
Cannon, a Trump appointee, appeared sympathetic to the former president’s argument. “Ultimately, what is the harm of appointing a special master to review these materials?” she asked. “What I’m wondering from the government ― what is the harm beyond delaying the investigation?”
FBI agents searched Trump’s tennis and social club in Palm Beach on Aug. 8 and took away 33 items, mostly boxes filled with papers, including more than 100 separate classified documents, according to a brief filed by prosecutors Tuesday night opposing Trump’s request for an outside review. Among them were some with the highest classification markings, meant for review only in secure government facilities.
The Director of National Intelligence is separately conducting a review to see how the storage of the documents in an insecure location might have compromised national security. Cannon said she is amenable to writing an exception to permit that review to continue unimpeded, should she decide to appoint a special master.
Trump, who had already been attacking the FBI and prosecutors for investigating his actions on and leading up to his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt, has ramped up criticism of law enforcement since then.
His followers have responded by threatening FBI agents and the Department of Justice, and one Trump supporter was already killed in a shootout with police after he tried to attack the FBI field office in Cincinnati.
In addition to the federal criminal investigations, a Georgia prosecutor is separately investigating Trump and his allies’ attempts to coerce state officials into falsely declaring him the winner in that state.
Trump, despite losing the election by 7 million votes nationally and 306-232 in the Electoral College, became the first president in more than two centuries of elections to refuse to hand over power peacefully. His incitement of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol — his last-ditch attempt to remain in office ― killed five, including one police officer, injured another 140 officers and led to four police suicides.
Nevertheless, Trump remains the dominant figure in the Republican Party and is openly speaking about running for the presidency again in 2024.
In statements on his personal social media platform, Trump has continued to lie about the election and the Jan. 6 committee’s work, calling it a “hoax” similar to previous investigations into his 2016 campaign’s acceptance of Russian assistance and his attempted extortion of Ukraine into helping his 2020 campaign.
Reporting from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this story.