According to a court filing filed Monday by the Justice Department, a “limited set” of documents taken by the FBI during its search of former President Donald Trump’s South Florida home might contain attorney-client information.
According to a filing Monday by Justice Department attorney Jay Bratt and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez, at least part of Trump’s request may be moot. Federal Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that a privilege review team had examined some of the documents seized from the former president to see if they contained attorney-client privileged information. The team found “a limited set of materials that may contain attorney-client privileged information,” according to the filing.
According to Bratt and Gonzalez, the filter-team procedures were approved in the search warrant, granted on Aug. 5 by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart. They referred Cannon to the un-sealed affidavit underlying the search, which laid out the process. According to them, the team is following procedures outlined in an affidavit. Providing a detailed description of the reasons for the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago this month to “address any potential privilege disputes,” wrote Gonzalez and Brat.
As part of the classification review, the Justice Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) are looking at materials recovered by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago.
Gonzalez and Bratt told the court that the Director of National Intelligence is also leading an evaluation of the possible threats to national security that may be associated with disclosing these materials.
The redacted version of the 38-page affidavit used by the FBI to justify the search of the former president’s Florida home was unsealed by a federal magistrate judge on Friday. According to the FBI, the National Archives and Records Administration found a high-level classified document mixed in with other records in the15 boxes retrieved from the property in January.
According to the FBI’s affidavit, 184 documents were classified within the 15 boxes provided to the National Archives, including 67 marked confidential, 92 marked secret, and 25 marked top secret. An affidavit stated that some documents were marked “HCS,” or HUMINT Control System, designed to protect intelligence derived from clandestine human sources.
According to Trump, the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago is a politically motivated attack by the Justice Department in advance of a possible presidential run in 2024.
Last week, Trump asked Cannon to appoint a “special master” to review the records seized from Mar-a-Lago, claiming that some documents are protected by attorney-client privilege. Special masters are third-party attorneys appointed by courts to oversee certain aspects of a case. According to a preliminary order issued Saturday, Cannon intends to appoint a special master in response to Trump’s request, but she has not yet decided. Moreover, she set a Tuesday deadline for the Justice Department to describe the property the FBI seized from Trump’s Palm Beach residence in more detail.
Trump’s legal team broadly argues that a special master is necessary to ensure that the Justice Department returns any private documents seized during the search of Mar-a-Lago.
Upon discovering potential attorney-client information, the privilege team has three options: to request a determination from Reinhart, withhold the documents from the investigators, or ask Trump to waive the privilege so investigators can review them. According to the DOJ, those procedures had been followed. A similar procedure allows the filter team to transmit any records they deem unprivileged to investigators.
There was NO reason for this raid of Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ and FBI are out of line! Doesn’t matter what political side your on. This was wrong! You are probahbly putting false documents in those boxes you stole! You are bunch of crooks. Any american who payed attention to what happen knows this. Shame on you!
I agree I don’t trust them at all. They are such snakes especially after what they did with the Russia hoax and they found out it was a hoax. And then you think we’re gonna believe that you found information he shouldn’t have. I believe you would have planted it. I think they’re disgusting and I hope God takes them out.. Because he knows they are too.
This witch hunt has become totally DISGUSTING as well as a national EMBARRASSMENT! Those continuing to pursue this SHAM have no conscience whatsoever!
They knew they were taking more, than what the search warrant covered. Why is the court allowing them, to escape punishment, for their wrongdoing. This is a big problem, with the justice system today, they limit the information, not telling the whole truth. They make innuendo, into a case, not adhering, to the original case. This is the tail, wagging the dog, so to speak. There are a lot of people, being charged with crimes, that aren’t crimes at all, just someones misconception, of what the law really means. They use legal speak,to persuade and confuse the people, making the decision whether to indict or not. I am one person that would not allow that, they know and would not want me on the jury. They just use words most common people, do not understand and are to ashamed, to admit it. This is what I call lawyer speak.
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I indeed hope a “Special Master” is appointed. Even if bad things are found, President Trump has accomplished more good things than any other President in recent years has. He deserves a big thank you from all of us for being able to stand up for what he believes.
Trump is a lier and racist blames evething on Spanish people wen white people lies and kills us and white people swear america belongs to them the Indians and Spanish people were here first trump lies so much he start the riot in the capital and why is it only Spanish and blacks get arrest and national guards on us but wen white people invade the capital they don’t get the same treatment we do double standard that why the police in America treat us badly and harass us but white people is don’t get the same treatment wen police harass them they stamp all over or rights as Americans citizens but not held accountable but white people get white privileged now I understand why people dislike America and i serve in the armed forces and seen how racist is first hand and grew up with racist whites in Philadelphia and still this day it’s like that but hide in a suit as politican and police
We need to hold Politicians accountable for bringing on Phony Committees and Witch Hunts wasting the American Tax Payer’s Dollars. Example: if I take someone to court and loose, then I incur all courts costs. Why should they be exempt from this? If they loose, the costs should come out of their pockets not the American People’s. What gives Nancy Pelosi the right to decide on my behalf? They work for Us, not the other way around. It’s time to put an end to all of this Corrupt Spending. We need to have a way to Audit our Government and let them know if they are doing the job they were elected to do on our behalf.