A federal judge just granted President Donald Trump a legal win by approving the 45th President’s request to appoint a special master to oversee the FBI’s review of materials seized in a raid last month from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The Daily Wire reports:
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon approved Trump’s request after the former president’s attorneys and a legal team from the Department of Justice (DOJ) met over the request in court last week. Cannon’s decision comes days after she released a more detailed list of materials confiscated by the FBI from Trump’s Florida resort, which has served as his residence since he exited the White House in January 2021.
On August 8, the FBI raided Trump’s residence in an unprecedented move that ignited a firestorm of controversy around the agency. Cannon said the case’s unusual nature partly contributed to her decision.
“Pursuant to the Court’s equitable jurisdiction and inherent supervisory authority, and mindful of the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances presented, Plaintiff’s Motion [ECF No. 1] is GRANTED IN PART,” Cannon wrote in her order. “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.”
Cannon’s order also temporarily stops the FBI’s criminal investigation into the materials seized from Trump.
Despite seizing around 11,000 documents from Trump’s home, only 15 documents were marked secret, seven marked top secret, and 69 without classification markings. Other items seized include clothing, gifts, books, and printouts of news articles. They also seized dozens of empty folders.
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