Brandon Bell/Getty Images
- A federal judge granted Trump's request for a special master to review seized docs.
- The special master would screen for "potentially privileged material."
- The DOJ had opposed the move, arguing that Trump "lacked standing."
A federal judge in Florida granted former President Donald Trump's request for the court to appoint a special master to go over materials that the FBI seized in its court-authorized search last month of Mar-a-Lago.
"The court hereby authorizes the appointment of a special master to review the seized property for personal items and documents and potentially privileged material subject to claims of attorney-client and/or executive privilege," US District Judge Aileen Cannon wrote in an order Monday.
The ruling also ordered government investigators to hold off looking over the seized documents until the special master reviews them.
Last month, the FBI probed into the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and recovered several boxes containing classified records that Trump took with him from the White House once he left office, according to the court records made public.
The search unearthed more than two dozen boxes containing some "11,000 documents and 1,800 other items from the office and storage room," according to court filings. Some of the boxes were distinctly marked as "top secret," Insider's Sonam Sheth reported.
Under the Presidential Records Act, he should have turned the records over to the agency upon leaving office.
The Justice Department is now investigating whether Trump violated any laws pertaining to the handling of government documents. A legal analyst has previously said he could receive a 10-year prison sentence if he's convicted of violating the Espionage Act, a law that dates back to World War I that essentially bars anyone from sharing or disseminating information that could potentially harm or disadvantage the US.
Trump has so far denied all assertions of wrongdoing, saying that he had "declassified" the documents. He also said that "everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time."
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
https://i.insider.com/6315dd6aed92be0018c5e165?format=jpeg
