FILE – An aerial view of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is shown, August 10, 2022, in Palm Beach, Florida (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge on Monday to block the FBI from continuing to review documents recovered from his Florida estate earlier this month until a neutral special master is appointed to inspect the records. The request was included in a court filing, the first from Trump’s legal team in two weeks since the investigation, which takes aim more broadly at the FBI’s investigation into the discovery of classified records at Mar-a-Lago and foreshadows arguments his lawyers have . is expected to be made as the investigation progresses. The filing calls the Aug. 8 probe, in which the FBI said it recovered 11 sets of classified documents, a “shockingly aggressive move” and describes Trump and his representatives as cooperating for months as federal agents looked into the presence of presidential records and classified documents. documents at Mar-a-Lago. He also attacks the warrant as overly broad. “Law enforcement is a shield that protects America. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes,” the lawyers wrote Monday. “Therefore, we are seeking injunctive relief in the wake of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid” on Mar-a-Lago. The filing specifically calls for the appointment of a special master, unrelated to the case, charged with reviewing the records recovered from Mar-a-Lago and removing those covered by executive privilege — an authority that allows presidents to exclude certain communications from public disclosure. In other cases, this role was sometimes filled by a retired judge. “This issue has caught the attention of the American public. “Simply ‘adequate’ safeguards are not acceptable when the issue involves not only President Trump’s constitutional rights, but also the presumption of executive privilege,” the lawyers wrote. Separately on Monday, a federal judge acknowledged wording in an FBI affidavit detailing the basis for the investigation could be so broad as to render the document “meaningless” if made public. But he said he continued to believe it should not remain sealed in its entirety because of the “intense” public interest in the investigation. A written order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Rinehart largely repeats what he told the court last week when he ordered the Justice Department to propose corrections about information in the affidavit that it wants to remain secret. The submission will be made on Thursday at noon. Justice Department officials have sought to keep the entire document sealed, saying that releasing any part of it would risk jeopardizing an ongoing criminal investigation, the release of witness information and the disclosure of investigative techniques. They informed the judge that the necessary amendments to the affidavit would be so numerous that they would strip the document of any meaningful information and render it essentially meaningless to the public. Reinhart acknowledged that possibility in his order Monday, writing: “I cannot say at this point that the partial amendments will be so extensive as to result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately come to that conclusion after hearing more than the government”. Several news organizations, including The Associated Press, have asked a judge to unseal additional records related to this month’s investigation at Mar-A-Lago, when FBI officials said they discovered 11 sets of classified documents, including top secret files, from the estate of florida. . Of particular interest is the affidavit supporting the investigation, which likely contains key details about the Justice Department’s investigation into whether Trump retained and mishandled classified and sensitive government records. Trump and some of his supporters have also called for the document to be released, hoping it will expose what they claim was government overreach. In his written ruling, Reinhart said the Justice Department had a compelling interest in preventing the full release of the affidavit. But he said he doesn’t believe it should remain completely sealed and said he was unconvinced by the department’s arguments that the drafting process “imposes an undue burden on its resources.” “Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the administration has yet to demonstrate that these administrative concerns are sufficient to warrant sealing,” he wrote.
