Last week, Trump asked a Florida court to appoint a special representative to review the documents seized during the search. His defense attorneys argue, among other things, that these documents are protected by the executive privilege of the US President. This is the President’s prerogative to keep secret certain information, such as communications with his own government officials.
“Improper storage of highly sensitive material”
Judge Aileen Cannon announced her preliminary intention to appoint a special master on Saturday. She was appointed a judge by Trump during his presidency in 2020.
In the court document now filed against Trump’s request, the Justice Department argued that Trump, as a former president, no longer has the right to the documents because they “do not belong to him” but are the property of the government. Since Trump’s lawyers only filed the application about two weeks after the search, a filter team set up by the authority has already finished its work.
In addition to the criminal investigation, the appointment of a special representative would also hamper the work of the US secret services. They are currently examining whether the “improper storage of this highly sensitive material” poses a risk to national security.
The FBI had previously checked 15 other boxes of documents in May that the National Archives had retrieved from Mar-a-Lago months earlier. The officials found 184 confidential documents of different classification levels. That same month, the department, through a grand jury order, recovered all remaining government records in Trump’s possession.
His team then gave the FBI a further 38 confidential documents, including 17 marked “top secret”. The search in August was carried out after there were several indications that, despite the assurances, further classified material remained in Mar-a-Lago, the ministry continued.