US Justice Department has reviewed documents seized in Mar-a-Lago search
29 August 2022, 16:54
A hearing is set for Thursday in federal court in Florida.
The US Justice Department has completed its review of potentially privileged documents seized from former president Donald Trump’s Florida estate this month, according to a court filing.
It has identified “a limited set of materials that potentially contain attorney-client privileged information”, according to the filing.
The filing from the department follows a judge’s weekend order indicating that she was inclined to grant the Trump legal team’s request for a special master who would oversee the review of documents taken during the August 8 search of the Mar-a-Lago estate and ensure that any that might be protected by claims of legal privilege be set aside.
In revealing that the department had completed its review of potentially privileged communications, law enforcement officials appeared to be suggesting that the appointment of a third-party special master might now be moot.
The department had been relying on a specialised team to filter out potentially privileged communications and said on Monday that it had completed its review of those materials before the judge’s order.
US District Judge Aileen Cannon said on Saturday that it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master – which would be an early procedural win for the Trump legal team – but gave the department an opportunity to respond and scheduled a Thursday hearing to discuss the matter further.
The judge also directed the Justice Department to submit under seal a more detailed description of the materials that were seized from Mr Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, something the department on Monday said it would do.
