U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge, ruled that a special master will be appointed to review the seized items to determine if any are personal items or items subject to claims of attorney-client privilege or executive privilege.
Cannon also ruled that the DOJ must suspend its use of Trump’s items for “investigative purposes” while the special master conducts its review, but also noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence could continue its “classification review and/or intelligence assessment.”
Cannon wrote that the court was “mindful of the need to ensure at least the appearance of fairness and integrity under the extraordinary circumstances presented” in granting Trump’s request.
She added that there was a risk of the DOJ leaking materials that would cause harm to the former president.
“In addition to being deprived of potentially significant personal documents, which alone creates a real harm, Plaintiff faces an unquantifiable potential harm by way of improper disclosure of sensitive information to the public,” Cannon wrote.
The decision comes after the DOJ objected to Trump’s request for the special master.
The DOJ last week urged against Trump’s request, arguing it was “unnecessary and would significantly harm important governmental interests, including national security interests.”
Trump’s lawyers had filed a motion for the special master about two weeks after the Mar-a-Lago raid, characterizing the raid as political in nature rather than fair.
“Law enforcement is a shield that protects Americans. It cannot be used as a weapon for political purposes,” Trump’s motion said. “Therefore, we seek judicial assistance in the aftermath of an unprecedented and unnecessary raid on President Trump’s home at...
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My favorite site for REgressive Krazyiness, CommonDreams, is having heart palpitations over this judge and her ruling. Every day is a crisis with these assholes.
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