Judge apparently plans to appoint ‘special master’ in Trump records case
A federal judge in Florida told the Justice Department on Saturday to provide her with more specific information about the classified records removed from former President Trump’s Florida estate and said it was her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master in the case.
The two-page order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signals that she’s inclined to grant a request from Trump’s lawyers, who this week asked for the appointment of an independent special master to oversee the review of records taken from Mar-a-Lago and identify any that may be protected by executive privilege, and to ensure the return of any documents outside the scope of the search warrant.
A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for attacking a police officer with a Donald Trump flag during the Capitol insurrection last year.
The judge, nominated to the post by Trump in 2020, scheduled a Thursday hearing to discuss the matter further, suggesting the Justice Department will have a chance to raise objections to the judge’s intentions. In other recent high-profile cases in which a special master has been appointed, the person has been a former judge.
Cannon also directed the Justice Department to file under seal with her more detailed descriptions of the material taken from Trump’s estate “specifying all property seized.”
The former president’s lawyers have complained that investigators did not disclose enough information to them about what specific documents were removed when agents executed a search warrant on Aug. 8 to look for classified documents.
The special master appointment, if it happens, is unlikely to significantly affect the direction of the Justice Department investigation, though it’s possible an outside review of the documents could slow down the inquiry.
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