A federal judge heard arguments Thursday on whether to appoint an outside legal expert to review government records seized by the FBI last month in a search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home.
U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, a conservative Trump appointee, made no immediate ruling or provide a timeframe, but the judge had indicated last week that she was inclined to grant the request and asked, “What is the harm?” in such an appointment.
Lawyers for Trump said the appointment of a special master is necessary to ensure an independent inspection of the documents. This kind of review, they say, would allow for “highly personal information” to be separated from the investigation and returned to Trump, along with any other documents that may be protected by claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
During the hearing, Trump’s lawyers shockingly compared the explosive FBI investigation into hundreds of classified documents to an “overdue library book.”
“This is an unprecedented situation. We need to lower the temperature,” said Chris Kise, the newly appointed leader of Trump’s legal team. “We need to take a deep breath.”
The former president has also requested the return of diaries or journals that were seized in the Aug. 8 search of the waterfront Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The Justice Department countered in a bombshell filing that Trump has no right to any of the documents.
“He is no longer president. He is unlawfully in possession of them,” said Jay Bratt, the head of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence section.
DOJ officials say the special master is not needed because investigators completed a review of potentially privileged records before Trump’s lawyers filed their demand and identified “a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information.”
Prosecutors believe Trump’s team is seeking to stall their probe. Another federal judge approved the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago after finding probable cause for violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice.
It was also not clear who might serve as that outside expert. In some past high-profile cases, the role has been filled by a former federal judge.
Cannon was nominated by Trump in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate 56-21 later that year. She is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, handling mainly criminal appeals.
With News Wire Services
