President Donald Trump’s legal team has asked a federal judge to appoint a “special master” to review documents seized by the FBI during a raid on his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
Democrat President Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland “personally approved” the raid on Trump’s home earlier this month as part of an investigation into records moved to Florida when he left office.
Trump wants a special master, a third-party attorney, to inspect the documents before Biden’s Department of Justice can review them.
The 45th president’s lawyers have also called on the judge to pause federal investigators’ work until the special master’s review is finished, according to a new court filing.
Trump’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, said: “Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans.
“It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes.
“Therefore, we seek judicial assistance in the aftermath of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid on President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.”
According to CNN:
“Though the legal maneuver could slow down the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal investigation, Trump’s request to the federal court in South Florida could face an uphill legal battle after his team missed multiple opportunities to challenge the search.
“The ex-President’s lawyers declined to take a position in court in the immediate aftermath of the search warrant execution.”
Just in: Trump files motion seeking appointment of a special master to determine what materials seized from Mar-a-Lago can be used in DOJ investigation https://t.co/kGEuLhN2FD
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) August 22, 2022
New: It appears Trump’s legal team has filed in SDFL, cause listed as ‘motion for judicial review’ — no documents available yet though. pic.twitter.com/61Ia8nQi8c
— Alex Mallin (@alex_mallin) August 22, 2022
According to CNBC:
“Politics cannot be allowed to impact the administration of justice,” the suit says.
It also says that the government told Trump’s counsel that “privileged and/or potentially privileged documents” were among the items seized.
But the government to date has “refused to provide any information regarding the nature of these documents,” the complaint says.
