A federal judge has sided with former President Donald Trump and announced her “preliminary intent to appoint a special master” to review records seized by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.
A “special master” would review the documents and materials to determine which are protected by attorney-client privilege and executive privilege, and therefore forbidden to be used by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Pursuant to Rule 53(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court’s inherent authority, and without prejudice to the parties’ objections, the Court hereby provides notice of its preliminary intent to appoint a special master in this case,” Judge Alieen M. Cannon wrote in a filing on Saturday.
This comes less than a week after Trump’s legal team filed a motion seeking independent review of the seized documents.
“Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes,” Trump’s motion said. “Therefore, we seek judicial assistance in the aftermath of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid on President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.”
The decision by Trump-appointed Judge Cannon made Saturday is based on Trump’s motion and “the exceptional circumstances presented,” Fox News reported.
Judge Cannon’s decision also comes just a day after Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the DOJ search warrant, released a heavily redacted version of the affidavit used to justify the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago.
Trump reacted to the judge’s decision on Truth Social, doubling down on his claims the DOJ raided his home for “political purposes.”
“Federal Judge in Florida just took over the Presidential Records Act case, including the unprecedented, unnecessary, and unannounced FBI/DOJ Raid (Break-In!) of my home, Mar-a-Lago,” Trump posted. “This assault was done for political purposes just prior to the Midterm Elections (and 2024, of course!). It is a disgrace to our now Third World Nation!”
The DOJ has opposed the appointment of a special master, according to Fox News.
“In these types of situations what happens is the attorney handling it will ask that there be an independent special master, which is an attorney that gets appointed to oversee and to make sure everything is done correctly,” Trump lawyer Alina Habba said on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America.”
“It’s a neutral party,” Habba said. “Think of it much like a mediator. They just make sure that the t’s are being crossed, the i’s are being dotted, and there’s no funny business.”
That’s probably the very reason the DOJ doesn’t want a special master.
Judge Cannon also tasked the DOJ to provide property receipts “specifying all property seized pursuant to the search warrant executed on August 8, 2022” before September 1.
Meanwhile, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines announced that her office will lead an “assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.”
